SNOWverkill

I'm "SNOW" over this!

Can DC handle 14" more of snow tonight....on top of the 24" we got this weekend?

The government is closed tomorrow, for the 3rd day in a row. Sorry taxpayers - that's $3m of your money down the tubes! Fortunately, dedicated employees (like me! hahaha yeah right) have been going into work regardless of the elements. Yesterday I was the only one there but today my boss was there and our client was there too...which meant I was bussssssy! Today was nonsense - the gov't should have been open on liberal leave.... but tomorrow might actually be tough. I hear what sounds like sleet outside....which means all of the packed snow (aka snow that was plowed like once in the past 3 days and is now packed down) will be even more slippery!

Also, DC is currently ranked 2nd in the entire nation in snowfall this season - next to Syracuse (which normally has 5x as much snow as we do...and this year it's only ahead of us by 10"). I mean mother nature must really have it out for us.

Storm 1 - Snowmageddon,
Storm 2 - Snowpocalypse
Storm 3 - Snowverkill.

please. stop. snowing!

Snowmageddon 2010

My street....2 days after the big storm....no pavement in sight!

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you know that DC got slammed with more snow this weekend. I think I have just about 2 feet outside but some places nearby got up to 32"! The government was closed today but again, I trudged into the office. I read that it costs taxpayers $100M every day that the Federal Government is closed so I thought I'd do my part to get some stuff done. however, I didn't last too long since it was SO BORING. The security guard told me I was the only one there but I thought he was joking. Alas, he was not. The streets were in worse condition than they were after "Snowpocalypse" in December and the metro was running even slower as well...it's no wonder fewer people were seen in the office! I'm wondering what they will do tomorrow since we're expecting another 6-10+ inches of snow starting at around noon. Will it ever stop?

Yes, there's a car under there. that sucks. glad it's not mine.

Power Outages in the greater metro area. My neighborhood (marked with the arrow) was somehow spared and I managed to keep my power....which is good because I would have been scared out of my mind without it!

the lesser of two evils

Ok I have to admit, watching the AFC playoffs with the Colts and the Jets pains me....a lot. I didn't really know who I'd end up rooting for...after all, neither one are the Pats! However, the colts are undeniably a much bigger rival.... especially since Brady vs. Manning always turns into a big deal! I am a closet Peyton Manning fan since he's SO good.....but I love rooting for the underdogs....and the colts are anything but the underdog! Therefore, I find myself rooting for the J-E-T-S, jets jets jets! Also, David's best friend is a season ticket holder and I'd love for him to be able to go to the big dance! So yeah, for the first time in my life, GO JETS!

Also, I got some address labels in the mail from donating to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society....which is odd because I was recently just thinking about the fact that I hate writing my address out because "Washington, DC" is so long. haha. Anyway, if you ever get any snail mail from me, this is what you'll see on the envelope...... and remember that they were free....because after all, i would never choose something so....gushy :-)

With love, from me.

Mini MLOG reunion in San Fran

So as many of you know, like all of my friends moved to San Fran after graduation. Ok, not ALLL of them....but 5 of them. Including spouses there is a total of 8 people out there. Compared to little old lonely me in DC. So yes, I have been looking forward to visiting the west coast since I got back from my world tour this summer!

I headed out for the MLK long weekend to meet up with Vidya, Jeet, Hem, Tom & Hyungi, and Rich and Colin, Gina, and Eric joined in the fun and games.

I got in at around midnight on Friday and met up with some peeps down in the Mission. We hung out for a bit before getting burritos as our midnight/2am snack. We finally got back to Vidya's condo and hit the sack at around 3:30 am (6:30 am my time). Yikes. I think that was a sign that it would be a long weekend.

Because my internal clock hates me, I woke up at 7:30. Yes folks, 4 hours later. Oh well. We had a busy day and headed off to Sonoma as soon as we all got ready. We stopped along the way to get a nice view of the Golden Gate Bridge and then continued onward to a few different wineries....

We were told this was a clear-ish day! Although to be honest, earlier in the week the forecast was calling for 70% chance of rain....so we sort of lucked out.

Colin - king of the world


This is why you can't trust strangers to take pictures for you. I mean really, what was this dude aiming at?

Yes, this is much better. Colin, Vidya, Rich, Tom, Gina, Hem, Lauren, Jeet

Winery #1 -Benziger Family Vineyard (thanks for the reminder on the name, Vidya!)

We scarfed down our lunches while enjoying a bottle of red and a bottle of white

At Ravenswood - NO WIMPY WINES!

Winery #3 - Acacia (we happened to be tasting wines next to another MIT grad!)


Does this count as surfing in California?

can't take these two anywhere

orrrr this one.


Hem plucked an olive off of this tree and gave it to me. Unfortunately I thought it looked gross and threw it on the ground. I hurt his feelings.

new friends

At the Beauty Bar taking one of Jeet's classic group shots

karaoke -- aka "skary-oke". This is what caused me to lose my voice. but booooy was it fun!

Sunday was tourist day. First stop - Lombard st.

steeeeeep

and so windy!

more steepness

cole being a hipster down by the water


the girls - hyungi, lauren, gina, and vidya


the homeless bush man - he jumps out and spooks people. it's HYSTERICAL! In fact, those guys went to take a photo with him right after he scared the crap out of them!

jeet sneaking into gina's picture

Alcatraz from Pier 39

last time i was here, there were many more sea lions!

GROUP PIC! the whole gang


Gina in front of the FULL HOUSE house!

Trying to wear Colin's "san fran" hat...but not pulling it off well.

Heading towards Lands End

walking down to the cave

this cave provided entertainment to last for the entire day....

once we made it through the cave (indiana jones style), this was on the other side

pretty!

but then.....we noticed that the waves coming up in the middle of the cave had caused some flooding...and in fact prevented us from getting back without having to swim (haha jk - walk) through the gigantic puddles!

I made a run for it but some of the other stopped to look at the waves in the middle....

diddy got splashed and in her attempt to get away, slipped and fell in...

and got very wet....

fortunately she had a change of clothes in her car so we continued on to land's end

i like this photo a lot

it was WINDY! you can sort of see colin and eric down in the right corner....

this was awesome

and watching the boys run through 'the maze' was even more awesome.....and funny

this artist was enjoying the day......and so were we!

All in all, I had an amazing trip! I caught a red-eye home Monday night and went straight to work on Tuesday. It was a rough day but it was totally worth it. I miss my fellow nerd friends and I'm happy we were able to get together--even if it was just got a weekend! Can't wait to do it again!

my heart....

I've been meaning to write something about the tragedy down in Haiti, but somehow the words just aren't there. Seeing the pictures, hearing the stories, reading the updates.....it just bring back such chilling memories for me. The earthquake in Sichuan nearly 2 years ago shook China to its core.....the damage done, the lives lost, the utter and complete devastation of homes, offices, schools - it's just something I won't ever forget.

Those images will forever be etched in my memory...and so it is for this reason that I say that my heart, my whole heart, is with the people of Haiti.

I plan to donate to some of the more reputable NGOs but it's times like these when I wish I had pursued more humanitarian jobs last year. I panicked and accepted a job I knew I'd be good at, but not necessarily passionate about. Considering the state of the economy last year I think it was the right move to make, but it's hard to sit here and not think about the fact that I wish I could do more.....

nothing like being called a b*tch

The past few days have been nice. They have! I think I'm actually bordering on being happy here. Ok, so maybe I'm not actually there yet....but hey, I'm making progress! Before I get to the bad, I'll start with the good...

#1 good thing - GINNY had her baby! She had a baby boy named Charlie (I knew it was going to be a boy!) and mother and baby are both doing wonderfully!

#2 good thing - Last night some coworkers and I went to this restaurant called Stars Bistro. My coworker's friend is the chef there and apparently it used to suck and he was brought in to turn it around. They have $10 lobsters on Wednesday so we decided to give it a shot. We got SO MUCH food (compliments of the chef) and then topped it all off with a 1.5lb lobster. De-lish!

#3 good thing - Today we went to Cafe Atlantico for lunch as part of restaurant week. My meal was so good I can barely even write about it. I started with conch fritters (with some weird guacamole 'envelopes' too....) then i had some trout and finished it off with delicious chocolate cake with bananas. Oh my goodness gracious. I loved every single bite of my meal!

now, onto the not-so-good and flat-out-annoying.....

I was crazy busy at work this morning. I was cranking stuff out because my coworkers had made a reservation for restaurant week (I LOVE RESTAURANT WEEK!). I NEVER take a lunch break (I literally sit at my desk and eat while doing work) so I was hell-bent on making it to lunch today! After lunch things were much calmer - mostly because I was waiting on input from others. I was bored. I had time on my hands. I hate that. (You know that). Finally at 6:15 (I'm supposed to leave at 6) I got the feedback I needed and ended up staying until nearly 7:30. This obviously aggravates me for a few reasons...mostly because I had plenty of time earlier in the day! This week has been dragging and all I wanted to do was come home so that I could PACK FOR SAN FRANCISCO!

Soooooo I get off the train and figure I'll just go pick up some food....it was 8pm and I knew I didn't feel like cooking anything! Well, the fastest thing nearby is Popeyes so I head straight there. There's some dude begging for money outside but I had my headphones in so I sort of just walked past him. Well, wouldn't you know, he follows me inside. He didn't really hassle me until after I placed my order....he wanted napkins and the employees kept telling him that napkins were for customers only. So he starts asking me to get him some napkins...but there weren't actually any napkins out so I continued to ignore him. This prompts him to mumble about how terrible I am and then he walks away and sits at a table. He is yelling all sorts of garbage at me and I just stood there and ignored it. I live in SOUTHEAST......dude could be all sorts of violent. There was an older woman there too and she sort of had my back...meaning she kept giving me a half smile every time this guy said something inappropriate.

"Oh you think you're better than me 'cause you got a job?"
"Cause you wearin' a suit?"
"Oh yeah you think you're better than me 'cause you white?"
"You just some dumb b*tch who can't spare 5 dollars"

Anyway, as I'm leaving I had to walk past him and some of his buddies - they were sitting at tables on either side of the aisle so it was sort of like walking through a gauntlet. As I pass him, he said, "That's right, B*TCH. I hope you trip and fall flat on your face!" Although it was probably the worst thing I could have done, I laughed. I kept walking, but I laughed. I couldn't help it because really....of all things to curse me with, he curses me with something that had a VERY HIGH possibility of actually happening! haha.

Anyway, I'm off to San Fran tomorrow to see my favorite nerds....and I can hardly wait!

a case of the mondays.....

Well now..... this Monday was no fun-day!

I normally wear flats for my commute into work and then change into heels. This morning, however, I was wearing longer pants and therefore had to wear heels TO work. Unfortunately, my heel got stuck in a crack while walking on my brick sidewalk.....this is not abnormal and happens at least once every time I walk out of my apartment wearing heels.....but today, the bottom part of my heel BROKE off. I was in a rush and didn't really notice until I got to the metro. Instead of the the normal rhythmic sound of my shoes going "click", "click", "click", "click", my shoes sounded more like, "click", "nail-on-a-chalkboard", "click", "nail-on-a-chalkboard". TO avoid the terrible noise coming from my left foot, I opted to tiptoe (yes, in heels) down the entire subway platform. Good thing I had another pair of shoes at work!

For some odd reason I picked up a pack of cinnamon Altoids the other day while I was at the store. I brought them into work and ate like half the container this afternoon. Unfortunately, I don't think they're meant to be consumed in bulk and suddenly my mouth was ON FIRE. I'm not even kidding. My nose was running, my tongue was burning, and I felt like a total idiot. Who ODs on Altoids? Me. This girl right here. Hi.

The day also saw me walk into a wall (this is what happens when you cut corners short) and trip on the mouse cord that is normally tucked under my desk. All in all, a good day. A safe day. Really. :-)

a scolding from a 4-year old.

I forgot about this story but it's sort of cute... when I was getting my nails done before NYE, there was a really adorable little girl there with her mother. She was 4 years old and had gotten her nails painted "like a princess" with a flower on each of her thumbs. This little girl looked SO confused when the lady painting her nails started speaking Vietnamese. She furrowed her little brow and said, "huh?" Then followed it up with "You look like a kid!". Haha. Her mom was filling her acrylics which take a bit of time, so the little girl and I ended up sitting at the nail-dryer things together.

Girl: Hey, where's your car?
Me: At home!
Girl: Well.......how did you get here?
Me: I walked! I live right around the corner!
Girl: (gasp) But that is SO dangerous!
Me: No, this is a safe neighborhood! Plus it's day time so it's ok for me to walk outside alone.
Girl: No, I don't think so. I think you should bring your Mom next time.
Me: Well, my mom lives in Boston...but I wish I could bring her!
Girl: Mm hmmm. Well OK. But I'm telling you - be careful of robberies.
Me: Robberies?
Girl: Yeah. Robberies. Ok? Be careful.
Me: OK, I will :-)

Then I asked her about school...and it turns out that one of her favorite subjects is Spanish! As I was getting up to leave, her mother shouted across the salon, "Tell the nice lady goodbye in Spanish!" She looks at me with a huge grin, waves her hand, and says (as confidently as possible)... "HOLA!"

new year...new passport!

After dragging my feet for several months, I finally motivated myself to renew my passport. It's not set to expire until May...but the renewal process takes several weeks and I figured I'd better be safe than sorry. I mean, you never know when I'll get a wild hair and book a weekend trip to London....or Barcelona.... or... Iceland, anyone?

I will miss my passport very dearly...but I will not miss the terrible picture that was in my passport. Unfortunately, the new one won't be too much better as my hair was gravitating towards the ceiling by the crazy amount of static cling I had when I rolled out of bed and headed to get a passport photo taken this morning. I know what you're thinking - well, why didn't you...i don't know, shower before the photo? Well....because I accidentally slept in until 10:30 this morning (yes, 10:30!!!!!) and panicked that I wouldn't be able to get everything done before the post office closed at noon. For future reference, the post office closes at 2, not noon....oops.

So, the picture is fine....but the post office was not. It was insanely busy. I must have spent an entire hour there and was shuttled from line to line since there was one VERY unhelpful lady directing 'traffic'. I was actually really angry at her by the time I left....I won't get into it now because it'll probably make you mad too...just know that I spent nearly 40 minutes muttering "serenity now" to myself this afternoon at the post office..... :-) So....hopefully it'll get processed quickly so that I can jet off somewhere....sometime....

Mom & Dad - get your butts off the couch and go renew your passports too!

Jambo :-)

My cabbie kept me highly entertained on the way home from the bar last night. I love talking to the cab drivers in Washington because most of them have interesting stories...and I'm sure more than a few of them are spies too :-) (After all, DC has the most spies in the world - on the metro they have some sign advertising that there are at least 10,000 spies in DC - what better job to get info out of people than a cab driver?)....anyway, I digress....

This guy drives taxis during the week and sells books, art, and antiques at EASTERN MARKET on the weekends. He also spent two years helping develop various infrastructure projects in, of all places, Kenya! I started speaking the little bit of Swahili that I still remember and next thing I know, he's speaking fluent Swahili (or as they call it, Kiswahili). Turns out, he used to teach Swahili at Cornell. Anyway, it was an enjoyable ride home and I look forward to stopping by his stall when the weather gets warmer!

I also learned a bit about how the market operates. There is a 3 year waiting period to get a stall at the weekend market. Plus, when you finally get in, you have to work the entire first year (maybe more)...including the winter...in order to keep your spot reserved. That explains why some of the vendors brave the cold temperatures in the winter....they're probably newbies paying their dues! Ah, I love the market....can't wait for it to get back into full swing in the spring!

there are some things that are impossible to understand...

Remember how i traveled to Kenya by myself this summer? Remember how you were worried about me? Well, let me briefly explain how that all worked.

You see, I found a volunteer organization called IVHQ (International Volunteer Headquarters) and IVHQ has forged partnerships with organizations around the world who are willing and able to take volunteers for anywhere as short as 1 week to as long as a year...or more. The partner organization in Kenya is Fadhili Helpers - an organization created by a minister, James Njiguna, roughly 3 years ago. It was created to help suffering children in Kenya; to feed them, to educate them, to care for them, and more. As it has grown, so has its ability to place volunteers in environments in which they can lend a helping hand. In addition to placing volunteers in existing schools and orphanages, Fadhili started its own orphanage called Maddison House.

Guess what else. The staff at Fadhili were roughly my age! In all honesty, most of them were at least a few years younger. Pretty impressive for an organization that positively impacts hundreds of childrens' lives on a daily basis. Many of the Fadhili staff grew up knowing about the hardships that exist in Nairobi and wanted to do what they could to alleviate the pain and suffering that so many children experience. Needless to say, I never once felt like I was in Kenya alone. My two weeks in Kenya were two of the best weeks of my entire life....and none of it would have been possible without the opportunities that were created by Fadhili Helpers.

Early in December James was heading home and was fatally shot and killed in an attempted robbery right outside his apartment. He left behind his wife and his baby daughter. He was 30 years old.

James devoted his whole life to helping others. He was selfless, compassionate, and ambitious; he was dedicated to God, his family, and his Fadhili brothers; he was an amazing young man...and he will be very sorely missed. My heart is heavy so I think that's all I'll say about this for now. RIP James.

James and some of the other Fadhili Staff welcoming us to Kenya via SONG (and dance)!

happy new decade!

Well, it's a new decade. Hard to believe. I mean, remember the hoopla surrounding Y2K? I do! I welcomed the 21st century on a cruise boat in the middle of the Caribbean....so it's sort of fitting that this year I welcomed the new decade on another mode of transportation....a party bus. It was slightly different than a fancy shmancy cruise boat, but it served the same purpose, more or less :-)

It's amazing to think how much has happened in the last 10 years. Heck....it's amazing to think about how much has happened in the last THREE years. In fact, it was exactly three years ago that I made a new years resolution that I actually stuck to. Realizing how unhappy I was with my life in DC, my #1 goal for the new year was to "Make a change.....and make it big!" Not surprisingly, some of the other goals on my list (I prefer to think of them as goals and not resolutions) included learning another language, taking a vacation, and volunteering more. Well, that turned out to be a year full of accomplishments. I got into MIT, quit my job, moved to China, traveled a ton, learned some mandarin, and yes....volunteered. It's amazing what can happen when you actually TRY to accomplish the goals you set!

Now, had someone told me that 3 years later I'd be in the same city I started in...but with a totally different life, I would have laughed in their face and told them to shut up. But alas, here I am...three years later.... after traveling the world and earning a Master's Degree.....back in DC. Oh well, you can't have it all, can you :-) All I can say is this.... I can't wait to see what this year (and decade) have in store for me!

So, to add some nostalgia to this post, I tried to track down photos from the last decade of NYEs. It was hard since back in 1999-2000 digital cameras really weren't popular yet and since some of my photo albums are being stored at home, I came up a couple photos short.... but enjoy...and happy new year!

2000 - Caribbean - My grandparents 50th wedding anniversary aboard the Grand Princess....unfortunately, the photo album is at home.

2001 - I honestly can't remember!!! It may have been the year I did First Night in Boston? If so, it was really lame....and REALLY cold.

2002 - Harrisonburg (JMU) - The night my car was totaled by a cop! Yeaahhhh good times. NOT! (don't worry - no injuries other than to my poor car...)

One of the most memorable NYEs....ever

2003 - Baltimore - A crazy night at Bohagers

Sarah, Ginny, Lauren, Jess, Carrie, Melissa

2004 - DC - an attempt to re-create the Bohagers craziness at the Front Page in DC - only an "open bar" isn't so great when you can't even make your way up to the bar....

Lauren, Kara, and Sarah

2005 - Caribbean - fun family outing on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship

With my brothers

2006 - DC - NYE party at Sequoia on the waterfront

Some of the JMU girls - Kara, Leslie, Sarah, and Ginny

2007 - South Carolina - Oddly enough, I can't find any pictures of this one either!

2008 - Shanghai - A very fun multi-course dinner and then a table upstairs to celebrate with masquerade masks, top hats, angel halos, devil horns, and a mascot that looked like the Michelin Man? I also recall a close call involving a girl-fight and a taxi...haha!

The Shanghai Gang - Dan, Lauren, Ashley, Dspear, Vy, Melerie, Jamie, Dave (and Jess)

2009 - Boston - low key party with my cousins (there was a big snowstorm that day!)

Kim and Megan

2010 - DC - The evening started at one of DC's finest restaurants - Vidalia - and then we boarded a party bus!

Sarah and Christine

2-0-1-0!
(Taken on Jan 2 at Rio)

90th bday parties are crazy these days!

90 years sure is something to be proud of! We had a surprise birthday dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant in Cleveland - Bo Loong! a 15-course meal followed by some karaoke....who says getting older isn't any fun?

SURPRISE!

Lilly's "sexy" pose

cousins

Time to blow out the candles!

Grandma Marilyn joined in on the fun!

Some of the cousins surrounding Poi-Poi

Mom & Dad with Grandma and the Wests

i love my poi-poi!

mother and daughter

so cute. lilly is exhausted

and then..... karaoke started :-) is anyone surprised? haha

Spencer did a great job leading the troops...but I think Robbie + Spencer + Michael Jackson = deadly combination!

Even the aunts got in and rocked out a bit

Ethan wanted to sign Bob the Builder....but alas, it wasn't an option...

With the Hymans at Grandma's house!

A quick rendez-vous with Ashley before she jetted back to the UK

The youngest cousin with some of the newest cousins...

missing Mike, Jess, Evan, and Connor!

who's that tall guy?

The CA Wongs got to see some fresh snow!

Poi Poi's home

Poi-Poi is very particular about her chow fan (fried rice)

she's very bundled up.....haha and oh so cute.

great smile! here's to 90 wonderful years and many more to come!

where's my juicer?

I love Christmas because it means going to Cleveland and spending times with my big crazy Chinese family. This year was an "on" year so we had a PACKED house...and I'm not joking. I think we might finally be at the age where a few more people may not fit! Either way, I loved every minute of it, as usual!

This year had some funny memories right from the start - from Aunt Sue referring to her new GPS as her fancy new "GSP" and my Aunt Pearl asking us, "Are you going to post those on myface?" We weren't sure if she meant facebook or myspace...but either way, it gave us a good laugh. Perhaps the funniest moment was when my parents gave me this fancy new juicer. It was especially funny because David has been asking for one for a while and he nearly went crazy when he saw that IIIIIII got one instead. His reaction (and mine) were probably pretty classic -- I felt so badly that they got one for me and not one for him, that I offered to give him mine! Being the typical baby of the family, I think he might have accepted it! Fortunately, the truth finally prevailed - my parents had in fact gotten one for David too...but left it in Boston rather than lugging it all the way to Cleveland. It was hysterical and was probably much funnier to witness in person..... so just take my word - it was funny!

Now onto some of the festivities -

Put right to work. My job is to help Poi Poi sew up the turkey (we use a secret Chinese recipe from my grandfather). I sewed the turkey one year and since I'm so talented (haha), it has been my job ever since...

Poi Poi - 90 years old and still going at it with the cleaver!

Melly!

Dad being a goofball with two of my mom's older sisters (Pearl and Sue)

David doing what he does best - sleeping.

Check out that winter melon!

This picture captures so much....but my favorite part is the top left corner. Clearly Kyle is doing something to annoy Melissa but she's brushing it off like a pro.

Dad showing off his new loot

The CA father/daughter combo....David's smiling as if he's in this picture.

I finally got to meet Lindsey's daughter Lilly!

and Sarah's son, James

Washing dishes after our feast. This is quite a task considering we cram about 40 people into the house for dinner!

Lilly and Kyle....

Just little Lilly...being all cute.

you learn something new every single day...

Last night I received the following message in an email from my grandma:

Grandpa Ed's first cousin is listed on the Vietnam Wall. His name is Harmon Polster, a Navy pilot shot down over Laos but listed at missing for many years. About 2-3 years ago his bones and dog tag were discovered by a Laotian who was hiking in the mountains and DNA was done. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery the past July. He was married to a beautiful young woman who won the Miss Ohio beauty contest just prior to their wedding. He was sent to active duty just 6 months after they were married and never saw each other again.

Wow. I never knew. All of those times I've been to that wall...and I never knew! Today the Federal Government was closed, but since I'm private sector now, I still had to go to work. It's an easy commute for me so I went into the office for a few hours (and got a LOT done since it was so quiet). I was one of 3 people there so once I finished my work, I headed straight back to the Vietnam Memorial. I found my grandpa's cousin's name...but unfortunately it was too high up on the wall (2nd row) for me to get any really great shots. As you can see below, it still has a cross next to his name - it must not have been changed after he was identified a few years ago. Thanks for sharing this piece of family history with me, Grandma.

In memory of Harmon Polster

Between the time I was there yesterday and the time I was there today, a Christmas tree had been placed at the apex. This picture sort of freaks me out because you can see the reflection of the right side of the wall (snow included) on the left side of the wall...

Ornaments complements of some local school children

No caption necessary

love this one.

Fred T West again....with the tree in the background

I'm glad I went back today and found Harmon's name on the wall. It was another gorgeous day and if it weren't for the wind, I could have stayed out a bit longer! I also wanted to include some of the pictures from the skype call with my family yesterday. I don't know why they saved so small (on my old computer they were much larger)...but they're still pretty cute.

Jess was asleep so Mike went to get Connor (2.5 weeks old) using his head lamp. hahahaha

Big D(avid) and Little C(onnor). Seriously how tiny does he look compared to David?

Uh, what's going on here. Why is Aunt Lauren talking to me through the computer?

No really, this is freaking me out!

David's big hand on Connor's tiny chest/whole body

he smiled for me..... what a cutie!!!

My favorite DC day....EVER!

The reflection from the Starbucks window..... I love this photo.

Today has been my most favorite day in DC, EVER! It just kept getting better and better! I woke up this morning and debated whether to go out and take more photos. After a few minutes I decided that I HAD to go out since a) it was sunny, b) the snow looked beautiful and c) the snow was still relatively untouched! I bundled up and out the door I went, both lenses in tow. I walked around my neighborhood then wandered past the Library of Congress to the Capitol. I just kept walking and made my way to the Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial, and the White House. By the time I finished my typical "tourist" loop, and made it back (on the subway because I was COLD!) it had been 5, yes FIVE, hours! I loved every minute of it and I was just relishing in the fact that I had enjoyed my morning so much. In fact, by this point I had already deemed today "my favorite day ever"...but it got better!

When I got back to my apartment, two guys and a girl were digging out a car out front. I asked if I could borrow a shovel when they were done since otherwise I'd be using some pots and pans like I did at JMU one time.... They told me they'd buzz me when they were done so I came upstairs to get some warmer clothing on (and to put my camera down). When I looked out my window, they were gone! "Those Jackasses!", I thought. Then I looked down the street and realized....they were digging out MY car! That's the nicest thing anyone has done for me....in a VERY long time! I went running outside to help but they would only let me get the stuff off of the top of my car (the 3rd shovel had mysteriously disappeared). Turns out they live right around the corner -- which is very convenient since I now owe them a beer or two in return for their kindness. Talk about some awesome Christmas Elves!

Then I came inside and got to see my two nephews over the webcam. My parents gave Mike a webcam for Christmas...and it was just awesome... my little nephews are SO adorable - although I think Evan was really weirded out how someone on a computer could talk to him!!

So anyway, today has been awesome. I have loved it...although it's 5:15 and I feel totally spent. Alright, here are some photos from my outing this morning. I am pretty proud of some of them...and the others are just token DC shots. Enjoy!

Find the Miata!

Oh my poor car....thank goodness for Christmas Elves!




Remember my photos from yesterday? Yeah, you couldn't see the Capitol at all....

This was a snow angel....must have been from yesterday since it had started to fill in. I love it.

The lighting behind that flag was just amazing....



Library of Congress

The snow makes for very dramatic statues!

The Capitol (from the Library of Congress)




This dog was adorable. Could barely jump out of the snow! People/dogs were playing on the hill at the Capitol building but I couldn't get a good panoramic shot capturing it all...

Nothing like sledding at the Capitol!

Love this.

Someone else wrote this....but I liked it. And the fact that there is one lone person sitting right there with the Washington Monument in the background

Inside the outdoor portion of the Hirshorn Smithsonian Museum and Sculpture Garden. He is holding quite a bit of snow on his head but I liked this close-up better...

More sculpture garden

One more

Cool tree with the Washington Monument (I've never approached the Washington Monument from this direction before. It was a nice new perspective)


Leading to the Capitol

The snow up close. The Washington Monument off in the background

WWII Memorial

Love this shot...the reflection off of the snow/ice.

This gives you some more perspective on the last photo. The sun was just awesome!

This path was cleared off better than my street! Ah, priorities :-)

About to get attacked by a seagull. This shot was total luck. I saw him coming and snapped as quickly as possible. I actually think it's a pretty cool shot!

Nothing artistic about this one....the Lincoln Memorial (it was closed off - which is probably smart since those stairs are quite slippery even when they're not covered with snow!)

Korean War Veterans Memorial.

These reflections are one of the reasons that the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial is my favorite to photograph.

That and there's a connection - my mother's good friend lost his brother in Vietnam. His name was Frederick West (can you see it above?). I like this shot because it has a woman touching the wall (and her reflection) in the background.

The snow was melting and dripping right over Fred's name

This one has Fred's name (right above the snow in the reflection) and the Washington Monument in the background. It took me a while to get this one right.

Hello Obama Family!

Love this shot. Just a reflection in a puddle between the EPA building and the Reagan building

Ok that's all for now.....I'm assuming I'll be going to work tomorrow (and tues, wed, and thurs! haha)....and then off to Cleveland for xmas! Can't wait!

let it snow!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas....

As you may have heard, DC is getting walloped by snow right now. Earlier in the week the predictions were at 3-5" then suddenly yesterday it shot up to 10", then 15", and now 20"+. Last night it started snowing at around 10pm and as far as I can tell, it hasn't let up. As of about noon, there was a solid foot of snow out there! Rather than sitting inside all day, I decided to go out and try to photograph my snowy winter wonderland. Once I got going, I realized I couldn't wear my gloves as planned...and that my camera was getting very wet. I only lasted for about 30 minutes - mostly because my shooting hand was so cold I could hardly move it. The snow melted when it hit my camera, but began to freeze back over shortly after. It was trickier than expected :-) If we get a lot more, I'll head back out later to grab some more photos...but this is a little sample of what I took earlier.

Precipitation on my front door...getting up the courage to go out there!

Ok, made it outside. Slowly but surely! None of my neighbors had ventured out yet which meant I didn't have any footprints to follow. Don't worry, I didn't fall down the stairs this time!

Speaking of which, here is the site of my face "plant". Can't believe there are still flowers there!

Dear car, please thaw out by Thursday so that I can drive to Cleveland! (the last time I lived here I had a garage. no such luck this time!)

peace wreath

frozen light....but still working!

I pass this every morning on the way to work. And every morning it makes me laugh. Just say Ho? Really?

This dog was loving the snow. We actually matched since I was wearing my black fleece and the snow was accumulating on me just like it was accumulating on him! Twins!

Usually this spot provides a nice view of the Capital. Not today...but I still love this shot!

Some of the detail on one of the store fronts

The UPS' lame attempt at a snowman.

Nutcracker...all nice and warm inside a store

I was trying to get a shot to show how much the snow was sticking to me.

The uneven piles crack me up....maybe because it's also color coded?

Well, I need to learn the settings better on my camera. I think some of these could have benefited from higher exposure (so that the snow didn't come out looking gray).... but my fingers were too cold to mess with the settings outside.... It's still coming down mighty hard (and fast) out there but I'm happy to be backside in my newly heated apartment for the time being....we'll see if I get the gumption to head back out later. For now...I'll just sit here enjoying a nice cup of coffee and some movies :-) Happy Snow Day!

Let there be.......heat!

Great news! My heat officially works! For the past several weeks I have toughed it out in my apartment...sans heat. I kept trying to fix it myself (and by "fix" I mean jiggling some knobs and messing with the thermostat) because I was too stubborn to contact my landlord. (I know what you're thinking - "WHAT?" But seriously, the last few times I contacted my landlord it was regarding very stupid things so I honestly thought they would respond with a, "Well Lauren, you must turn the heat ON in order for it to work!" As it turns out, it actually WAS broken so I definitely should have reached out sooner...oh well, I guess I saved on my gas bill, right? My apartment was usually around 54 degrees....which isn't too bad when I'm awake since I can bundle up appropriately....but waking up and getting into the shower was like pure torture! So....I am very happy to report that my apartment is now a cozy 64 and I am a very happy (and warm!) camper!

You say potato, I say po-tah-to

This morning I rolled out of bed and headed down to the DC Central Kitchen. The MIT Alumni group in DC organizes an event each month and this month happened to be a volunteering opportunity! Now, I've been wanting to get back into volunteering but the best way to do so in DC is through a group called DC Cares. Unfortunately, their orientations are very difficult for me to get to and I can't start volunteering until I've been to an orientation. Hopefully I'll be able to get to one soon....So needless to say, I was excited at the opportunity to help out through the MIT group!

There were probably 20+ people there this morning (from a few different groups) and it turned out to be a lot of fun! I was at the potato peeling station and, if you can believe it, I peeled potatoes continuously for about 2 hours! My hand definitely got a little tired because we had a lot of little potatoes which were hard to hold onto! Plus, they were very slippery with gloves on! I won't lie, I dropped my fair share (did I mention they were slippery???) but so did the other guys at my station....it was actually really funny because they would just shoot out across the table (and sometimes onto the ground). After we finished peeling, we got to have a quick cookie break...and then back to the table to cut the potatoes. The cutting was MUCH quicker than the peeling and before I knew it, we were done! I had a really fun time so I hope I can get to a DC Cares Orientation sometime soon so that I can do more of this stuff on my own instead of waiting for a group to organize it (even though it really was fun with the MIT group today!)

a night at the ballet

Last night an old friend Natalie (from my gymnastics days growing up) came downtown for the evening. We caught up over a fun meal then headed to the Kennedy Center to see the NYC Ballet. Neither of us had been to the Kennedy Center before so we were pretty excited! There are three things worth mentioning about last night.

1. The ballet was great. I wish I could dance as well as them....and possibly be as skinny as them too! haha!

2. If you can believe it, Natalie and I wore the EXACT same dress. Since we accessorized differently we figured it would be ok to go out in public that way. Additionally, we have the same Vera Bradley bags, the same wall mirror, and the same perfume.....weird.

TWINS!

3. During the 2nd intermission, Natalie checked her phone and replied to a text message. One of the older female ushers came down and said "You're not taking any pictures, are you?" Natalie responded politely with a, "No, I wasn't - I was just sending a text message, is that ok?" The usher then responded with a "No, it's not. You're at the ballet. Take in the culture". In our shock at being chastised, Natalie sort of just laughed and said, "It's intermission!" "You just don't appreciate the ambiance here", retorted the usher. I was seriously shocked. I mean, there were a bazillion other things we could have been doing during the intermission - smoking outside, going to the bathroom, getting drunk, or reading Twilight like the boy sitting a few rows behind us. I think it's a little ridiculous that she chose to speak to us that way. Had she been texting DURING a performance, then yes that is rude. But during an intermission when 3/4 of the people have vacated the opera house in the first place? Crazy. I then leaned over to get something from my purse and I put my program on the ledge in front of me (we were in the front row of the top section). Well, wouldn't you know, Grandma Usher was right there to yell at me for putting my program on the edge because it could fall on someones head. Yikes. Ok so long story short. I am 28 years old and I went to the ballet for a nice sophisticated evening and instead got yelled at, TWICE. Annoying.

(Grandma I know you're reading this....and I'm sure you're a WAY better usher than that lady....in fact, maybe you can give her some lessons on how to wear the red jacket properly :-))