National Dump the Pump Day

Apparently today was National Dump the Pump Day, brought to us by the National Public Transportation Association in an effort to promote the use of public transportation. While I did not take public transportation today, I have dumped the pump recently. Something major is wrong with my car and I've been holding off on getting it fixed for awhile, sort of seeing how long I can make it without a car. It's been about six weeks and it's not been bad. I'm lucky that I can walk to work and be there in about 12 minutes. If worse comes to worst (like there's a major storm or something), I do have the option of taking a bus that leaves about a block from my house and drops me off directly across the street from my work.

Probably the times I miss my car the most is on the weekends. I have to run all my errands on foot or by using public transportation and some days it's harder than others. I have a grocery store about two blocks away and another about 8-10 blocks so I go to both regularly. My other most common errand-running is to the library, which is about 4 blocks away. So those two things are pretty easy, although it does mean that I can't buy too much from the grocery store at one time. Hanging out with friends isn't too tough because a few of my friends don't have cars anyway so we usually meet at spots accessible by public transportation. Going shopping or to Target, one of my favorite stores, is the toughest. I wouldn't call myself a shopaholic but I do like to go shopping every once in awhile. There are a couple malls or shopping centers directly off the Metro and I've also discovered a bus that leaves from by my house and goes directly to Tyson's Corner Center, one of the biggest malls in the area. I tried that out a couple weeks ago and it was super easy. There is a Target on a bus route and I did that in early May but had my car been working, I would've been to Target at least a couple more times since then. The Target I like best is not a quick bus ride away, unfortunately. I guess there are worse things than not visiting Target several times a month.

I've found that I actually enjoy taking the bus. It's nicer than taking the train because you are above ground and can actually look out the window and see sights. It's also cheaper. And, it's kind of a neat way to see a new area. Plus, the NextBus system lets you plug in your stop information and see exactly how many minutes away the next bus is... that enables you to stay at home until the last minute and not have to sit at the bus stop waiting.

In sum, I do plan on getting my car fixed soon but I gave up my parking pass at work, so I have given up the pump in that respect. While I walked often even when I had my parking pass, this means I can't drive at all so it will be a bit of an adjustment.

Mount Vernon

I had a LivingSocial coupon for Mount Vernon, George Washington's house, that expired on March 31 so I headed down there to use it before it expired. I'd never been there but had been planning on going at some point. The coupon enabled me to make that happen for cheaper!

The only problems with going in March is that it was still pretty chilly, none of the crops were in bloom, and some of the features do not operate in the winter. However, overall, it was really nice, with the best part definitely being the property's view. The view is just gorgeous, right on the river; it's no wonder he lived there for like 50 years. There are vegetable gardens, flower gardens, (most of which were not in bloom at all) and livestock.

You go through the mansion on a guided tour so you aren't free to just roam around aimlessly or take pictures. Besides the main mansion, there are a lot of other buildings around, like the greenhouse, the slave quarters, the laundry house, the smokehouse, the garages, the stables, etc... There is also the crypt. George is in the tomb on the right, Martha on the left (that you can barely see).


You also can walk down to the dock and get really close to the water and also see his sixteen-sided barn, which was one many agricultural inventions he apparently had.

I didn't take a lot of pictures but it was pretty cool and wanted to share. It's like a little piece out of the 18th century nestled away outside of 21st century life. Someday I might go again because I didn't really have time to walk through the museum part of it and might take advantage of some of the things that are only available April to October.

Rally wrap-up & other weekend events

I had a busy weekend! I went to see David Alan Grier do stand-up on Friday night. He was funny but that was expected. I thought the opening act, Brian Parise, was really funny too.

Saturday was the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear and that turned into a very long day. I left my house at 8:45am and planned to Metro downtown but it was already ridiculously crowded and we had to wait awhile before a train came through the station that actually could fit us. Then, our train was a couple of stops away from the Mall and one of the doors malfunctioned so it was taken out of service - but only after we were all packed like sardines in the stopped train for about 15 minutes while they diagnosed the problem. Luckily we could walk from that point very easily and my other friend was on the train directly behind us so once they took that train out of service, she met up with us in no time. The Mall was already super crowded but we managed to find space and sit down. It only got more and more crowded by the time the Rally started at noon.

Overall, I liked the rally but it was more political than I expected. I wanted more funny. But apparently I was in the minority because most people there seemed to expect it to be all about politics, considering all the crazy signs people made and the fact that people traveled from all over the country to attend the rally. I've loved Jon Stewart for nearly 20 years and I will continue to love him but I won't lie that I was a little disappointed in the rally. The musical acts were pretty awesome though. Here are some clips from the event.

After the rally, my friends & I decided to stay downtown and get some food to avoid all the crowds heading home on the Metro. But apparently everyone had that idea because every place we went to had ridiculously long lines, even when we wandered a few Metro stops away from the Rally. We ended up at this place called the Banana Cafe and it was really good (don't let the circa 1995 Web site fool you) so I'm glad we decided to wait it out for an hour or so. By the time I got home after eating, it was after 7pm. A long, long day.

Today was a friend's birthday so she had a potluck brunch so that meant I had to get up and make something and be at her house by noon. Turns out all we did at her house was watch the Rally, which she had DVR'd. I guess I was lucky because most people had difficulty hearing anything at the Rally. Well, judging by the sample size at the brunch. But, then again, no one else got there anywhere near as early as I did.

After the brunch, I had a couple errands to run and didn't get home until about 6pm. This is my least favorite kind of weekend, where I'm barely home at all. It makes it worse when I am busy during the week after a weekend like that and right now I have plans for this coming Monday night, Weds. night, Thursday night and Saturday night. Something in my schedule might have to change.

Three Day Weekend

It's Saturday morning, I just slept in and I have a 3-day weekend ahead of me! It's not that unusual that I have a 3-day weekend thanks to our work flex schedules (although usually I have a Friday off) but it has been awhile that I've had three days ahead of me without any plans. The next two weekends will be busy for me so I guess I should make the most of this downtime!

One thing I definitely have to do is find out if there's something wrong with my car. I failed the state inspection because I needed new bushings and finally got them replaced yesterday (goodbye $550) but on my drive home from work last night, I heard this weird clunking noise that hadn't been there before. It was late (I'd had dinner with a friend) and it's only 1/2 mile to my house so maybe I was hearing things but I need to check it out and see if that noise continues and, if so, take it back to the stupid shop as soon as possible. Ugh.

Another must is that I need to clean. I've been busy the last couple of weeks and I realized when I got home last night that my apartment is quite the disaster area all of a sudden. In fact, as I sit here on the couch, I realize there is barely a clear walkable path in my living room. Stuff just has a habit of piling up. Ugh.

Otherwise, I think I'm going to watch a movie or two, read, go for some walks, play on the Wii, maybe hit up a mall (or maybe just unpack my winter clothes that have been stored away) and lay low.

My First YouTube Upload

I know I haven't been online for a few weeks but I had my birthday, a librarian conference, and then a trip home for 5 days that kept me very busy. My trip home was okay. Perhaps the highlight was the Indians game I went to with my dad on Saturday night, where they had post-game fireworks that were completely awesome. I daresay they were one of the best fireworks displays I've ever seen. And, yes, I've seen those in our nation's capital a few times now. Anyway, I got the urge to record five minutes or so of the fireworks on my digital camera and then uploaded it onto YouTube. Voila! I know it's better to watch fireworks in person but it's my treat to you for my absence.

Friday randomness

This is the first of my four Memorial Day weekends in DC that I'm actually spending in DC, I think. And I'm being welcomed with amazing summer weather - not. It started pouring rain shortly after I got home from work. It's supposed to rain most of tomorrow, too. But that's all right because I have about six movies to watch between Netflix and the library. Why is it if you put a bunch of things on hold at the library at all different times that they all come in at the same time?

Today I went to the post office to finally apply for my first passport. I've left the country before, probably at least a dozen times, but I always only needed my birth certificate before. No longer and I'm supposed to go to Ottawa for work in August. But, I didn't realize that to get a passport, they take your birth certificate and mail it in with the application. You get it back when you receive your passport, apparently, but it makes me nervous. I feel like I'm going to be the one person who doesn't get theirs back.

Last night, I had such a crazy dream. I don't remember the dream at all but it must have involved me thinking something bad was in my bed because all I remember is basically waking up as I was frantically crawling out of bed. I was awake, my heart was beating really fast, it was pitch black, and I was standing beside my bed, yet I had no idea why I was out of bed. It was really crazy. Stress, perhaps? After a few minutes and I calmed down and sort of reassessed the situation, got back into bed and did not get eaten or anything so I don't even know what I thought was there.

D.C. Horticulture in Pictures

A couple weeks ago - Easter weekend, in fact - a friend & I went down to see the famous Cherry Blossoms. And I took pictures! Today, another friend & I went to the White House Spring Garden Tour. And I took pictures! I've combined the pictures of beautiful DC landscaping into a photo album, so feel free to click on the picture below for more pictures.

DC - April 2010

The Cherry Blossoms, and I hope I don't get kicked out of DC for saying this, were kinda overrated. Way too many people and a lot of walking just for some pretty trees. Yes, they were pretty but there are a lot of trees like that around the area and they are all pretty, not just the ones around the Tidal Basin. I was told by someone who had gone the same weekend that I did as well as the previous weekend that they were far more spectacular the previous weekend.

On the other hand, the White House Garden Tour, was way underrated. I remember I kind of wanted to go last year but another friend of mine wasn't so convinced so we didn't go, but what a mistake because it was awesome. I mean, we literally get to walk all over the White House grounds. We saw their front door, where the helicopter lands, the Rose Garden, the Oval Office, the garden that Michelle planted, the swing set installed for Sasha & Malia, and I don't know what else. It was super cool. Crowded, too, but totally worth the wait and the crowds. Enjoy the pics!

Shecky's Girls Night Out

I mentioned this briefly the other day but I attended Shecky's Girls Night Out on Weds. and one of the big draws with that event is the gift bag. This time didn't really disappoint, as you can see all the freebies I got in the picture below.



Another benefit of the event is the sampling of alcohol. I tried the Michelob Ultra Pomegranate Raspberry, which has an interesting non-beer flavor. It would have been a great option before I enjoyed the taste of beer. I also tried Budweiser Select 55, a beer that boasts only 55 calories. It honestly didn't taste any different than any other light beer, but with far fewer calories, I suppose. I wanted to try the Bacardi Silver Sangria, but they had run out of it by the time I got to the bar.

Mid-Week Day Off

As some of you know, we get a "flex day" off each pay period, which we earn for working longer hours the other nine days in that pay period. The best thing is having 3-day weekends. This pay period, however, I didn't have many options for fitting in a three-day weekend. I had an out-of-town meeting last Friday, attended a conference on Monday, and cannot take off this Friday since the other person in my department has switched her day to then. I guess on rare occasions we can carry them over to the following pay period but considering I worked 58 hours last week thanks to three days at out-of-town meetings, I didn't want to wait any longer for my day off. So, I ended up taking today off, which kinda sucked. I guess it breaks up the week nicely but I also am the kind of person who builds momentum at work as the week goes on. Now, tomorrow is going to be like starting over.

I will say that I actually was pretty productive today, though, a lot more than I am on my usual Fridays off. I did a bunch of laundry, did my taxes, applied for a job, watched 2 movies, ran some errands and attended the Shecky's Girls Night Out event and got my super sweet gift bag. That might warrant a separate post, but not tonight.

Netflix downgrade

I haven't found the time to watch many movies the last few weeks so I took the opportunity to save $5 each month and I downgraded to the one-movie-out-at-a-time plan. We'll see. I went through my queue of movies and realized that a good portion of the movies are available at the local library, plus I still have unlimited online "instant" viewing and my "instant" queue is pretty long. So I figured I would cut down my queues those two ways for the time being. I'll let you know if it doesn't work out!

Wide awake and philosophical

I'm actually really tired but when I lay down, I can't sleep. My mind is so full of all these projects I'm doing at work... I guess they call that stress. So, I pulled out my laptop and spent nearly an hour wandering the Internet aimlessly, half-heartedly googling old boyfriends and crushes and reading celebrity Twitter feeds. Maybe I should start tweeting? I've debated about it for a long time but since I haven't started yet, I guess that really is my answer, isn't it? I could maybe start by logging in to Facebook more than once a month and updating my status more than once a year. Yes, maybe I should make that a 2010 resolution.

As much as I'm enjoying my new solo living situation, it's turned me into quite a lazy person. I need to change that. There's nothing wrong with calming down my schedule and not being out four nights a week but I shouldn't exchange that for sitting on my couch staring blankly at the television for hours, like I did yesterday and today. Well, last night I actually ran some errands and didn't get home until nearly 9pm, so really it was just today I was uber lazy. And I did go out three nights last week. And the week before that, I spent most of my time after work back at the old place cleaning it. And this Thursday is our next librarian Happy Hour. Come to think of it, maybe I'm not as lazy as I feel. Regardless, I do have a bunch of projects to do around the house that I should perhaps work on while I'm sitting on my couch watching television. And one of those projects is to get the slipcover back on that couch. Ha.

Moved!

It's been just over a week but I didn't get my Internet connection working until today so this is the first time I've been able to officially announce that my move was successful! Yay!

This was the first time I used movers and while it was more money than I wanted to spend, it wasn't all that much more than renting a truck and bribing some friends to help. Plus it went really smoothly. Well, except for the movers temporarily putting the elevator at my old place out of service. That had me worried, since all that was left in the apartment was the big stuff. But it was only temporarily out of service, like 5 minutes. The other worry was that I had paid for the movers for three hours and desperately did not want them to take any longer than that. It took them about 90-100 minutes to load the truck. So I was worried. Luckily, it only took about half that to unload it.

Last week, I spent time trying to unpack and organize the new place while simultaneously trying to get everything out of the old place and get it cleaned. The latter item took much, much longer than I planned, but I'm confident that I should get my entire security deposit back. The former item is a work in progress, of course. I do have just about everything unpacked, but I can't guarantee that everything is in its final resting place. I'm still trying to figure out where the best place to put everything is. Of course that will take time.

In the meantime, I am so psyched about my new place and especially the prospect of having a place all to myself. It's so, so, so fantastic; I don't know why I was waiting so long to ditch the roommate.

I'll be moving soon!

After looking at nearly 20 different one-bedroom apartments in Arlington over the last month, I finally found a place to call home and all the paperwork went through today! Hooray! I'm really looking forward to having a place all to myself, especially after all the drama my a-hole roommate has caused while moving out (maybe another post). I get the keys to the new place on Saturday but won't be fully moving in until probably the second weekend in January. It's great to have so much lead time where I can go into the place and take some measurements and decide what I might need. I might be able to get some furnishings and decorations at after-Christmas sales. The best part is that I don't have to pay rent until February 1.

My new place is a little smaller than some of the others I looked at, but I'm confident it will be big enough for me. I'll be about 5 blocks from work so my plan is to walk to work, which is fantastic. It's got built-in bookshelves, which, silly as it sounds, is something I have always wanted in my home. It's got decent closet space and a full-size washer and dryer within the unit, which actually is quite rare for Arlington. It's a little more than I wanted to spend but I think the perks make it worth it. With the month of free rent, my total rent cost over the year goes down considerably so I can't really complain.

December Goings-On

So, in case you hadn't noticed, I haven't found the time to write lately. I've been SWAMPED with work, social events, apartment-hunting and who knows what else. It's leading up to Christmas and as has been my tradition, I love to watch and then write reviews of Christmas movies. Unfortunately, I haven't found the time to watch many so far this year. I do plan on doing that but we'll see if I can find time.

Apartment-hunting has been a pain. Everything is way more expensive than advertised and I just cannot justify spending the ridiculous rent amounts that you find here in DC. I really do want a place of my own but I might just end up trying to find a roommate for the time being and look again at one bedroom apartments in a few months or even potentially buy something. I have three appointments tomorrow and maybe a few more for Saturday so all is not lost yet.

Roommate News

For those of you who know me well, you know I do not like my roommate. There are dozens of reasons why that I won't really get into right now... but the good news is that he is finally, finally moving out! I've been waiting forever for him to move out as he constantly told me his living there was only temporary. Now, nearly two years later, he's finally moving out. I've been waiting so long that I finally decided about a month ago that I should probably move out first. I even looked at some apartments a couple weeks ago and have been trying to determine exactly how much I can afford. Part of it is that I'm ready for a change... I've been there almost 2 years and that's the longest I've lived in one place in about a decade. Of course, now that Marc is leaving, I have to decide if I want that change to be a 1-bedroom apartment or if getting a new roommate will be enough change for me. Ugh. Big decision. I have to decide relatively soon; he's moving out until mid- to late-December and I've got to give 30 days notice.

Second Place Showing in Trivia

By the way, we placed second tonight in trivia! Very exciting. It got us $25 in gift certificate money for the bar where the trivia takes place plus a bunch of Halloween loot, like candy and fake bugs and a jack-o-lantern pen that has punching arms. I am very proud of us but I do feel like we probably could have won first place again (we won once before) had we actually listened to each other. We had the correct answer to at least 5 more questions but let someone else on the team convince us we were wrong.

Post Hunt

Also this weekend, I participated in the Post Hunt. It's like a scavenger hunt (sponsored by the Washington Post) where instead of having to find objects, you try to solve puzzles around the downtown DC area. Puzzles that are set up specifically for the event, I should add. It was tough! And pretty hard to explain. There is lots of info and some videos if you go that link, though. Let's just say that we didn't win. We had a team of six and we were pretty stumped, particularly by the statues puzzle. Although the winners were local, the 2nd place team was from Arizona and the 3rd place team was from Florida. People travel all over the country to do this? Crazy. It was definitely fun but it also made me feel way stupid.

Side note: Dave Barry was there! Does he count as a celebrity? I think so. He's one of the founders of the Hunt.

GI Film Festival

Last Wednesday, I found out I won a free VIP pass to the GI Film Festival! It was an all-access pass to all the movies that were playing, including some VIP movie showings and receptions. Plus, it included a gift pack with some free T-shirts, movies and other swag. Pretty exciting! They promised celebrities at the receptions and well, say no more, if there are going to be celebrities, I'm there!

So the first VIP event was Thursday and it included a showing of Valkyrie as well as a reception afterwards. The movie was actually pretty good (even if we all know how it turns out) and one of the producers was there to answer questions and talk about the filming. It was pretty interesting. As far as "celebrities" go, there was Faizon Love, Karri Turner, and Leann Tweeden (who I'm shocked to learn is only 35 - sorry). No I did not know who they were, other than possibly having heard their names before. Then, at the end of the screening, the organizers announced that Stephen Baldwin was also there! Finally someone I'd recognize on sight. And, indeed, he was there. I saw him myself. Also possibly at the event was the notorious Scooter Libby. I might be wrong but I swear I heard someone being introduced as Scooter Libby and the picture on Wikipedia looks enough like him that I'm just going to go with it. I don't know if I've ever knowingly been in the room with a convicted felon before!

On Friday night, there was another reception and then the showing of Taking Chance, which debuted on HBO recently. It was really enjoyable and supposedly, Kevin Bacon and the movie's director and co-writer were supposed to be in attendance. Uh no. However, the real person who Kevin plays was there and told us his story and answered questions after the movie so that was pretty cool. As far as celebrities go, Stephen Baldwin was there again and so was Jeffrey Ross. Who we talked to!! My friend Elizabeth saw Jeffrey first and decided we should go talk to him and before I could say, "What will we say?" she was already there talking to him!

Here's how our conversation went:

Elizabeth: I was really rooting for you on Dancing with the Stars. It's too bad you got eliminated.

Jeffrey: Thanks! But you should watch on Tuesday! I'll be there to roast the finalists.

Me: Oh yeah, you're a great roastist!

Me: Wait, is that what it's called... someone who roasts?

Jeffrey: Hmm, I think it's "roastmaster?" But roastist... I like that!

Elizabeth: Good luck!

And that was about it. So if he uses the word "roastist" tonight, you can thank me. Because I'm sure a well-paid, professional comedian relies on random strangers to provide him with vocabulary. Anyway, it was exciting and he couldn't have been nicer. A side note: We didn't even try to talk to Stephen Baldwin. However, I should have offered my hand for him to shake. I shook Joan Rivers' hand a few months ago and she went on to win Celebrity Apprentice. He could use my special powers as he heads off to do I'm a Celebrity... Get me Out of Here.

Big Sports Weekend

It was over 90 degrees this weekend - way too hot for April - so I spent some of my time indoors watching sports! The NFL draft was on and I eagerly awaited the Browns pick at #5... which they promptly traded away for pick #17. Then, when it was time for pick #17, guess what? They traded that away for #19. And then, when it was time for #19, they traded it away YET again. Finally, at the 21st pick, they picked Alex Mack, a center from California. A center? Bor-ing!

More exciting news was that the Cavs won their playoff series against the Pistons in a four-game sweep. It was pretty much no contest the entire series and now they get at least a week off while the other series battle it out. I tell you, it's so strange to have a team that is the #1 seed, that is dominant over other teams and is basically expected to win. A team from Cleveland doing that? Seems so wrong.

In other weekend news, I went out to dinner on Friday night, saw a movie with a friend on Saturday and ran some errands (including a trip to Wegmans!!) on Sunday. Very exciting stuff. I also have a persistent cough. I hope it's not swine flu.

Work Happy Hour

I organized a work happy hour since we haven't had one in a few months (I think January was the last one) and for awhile had been doing them once a month. Throughout the day, it seemed like more and more people were telling me, "Oh, I can't go now" so I expected a paltry turnout but we ended up with 8 people over the course of a couple hours. Out of 24 employees, I don't think that's too bad. Comparing it to the librarian happy hours we organize, where we also often get 8 people, it's actually fantastic. I mean, the librarian happy hour pool is at least a couple hundred.