Parents in my apartment

So I have visitors, and it's not mice. My parents are here for a few days prior to all of us taking a train up to Hyde Park for Anna's graduation.

Tonight we went over to the mall to see the monuments at night: gorgeous views! My favorite is the WWII Memorial: it is a lot prettier at night than in daylight. The pictures of the flowers are from the garden behind the Castle (obviously they are flashed b/c I took them at night).

Things in Bloom

Just thought I'd post a few pictures of some of my plants that are currently blooming. Why? Because some people have children, Oprah has her dogs, and I have my plants. The first two are geraniums, the third one is an orchid that is beginning to grow a stem that will eventually have blooms (!!!) and the fourth one is one of my violets (there are 2 more that will bloom soon: white and deep burgundy).

One man who is making me happy

No, I did not all of a sudden find a boyfriend...alas.

For the last 6 months, or maybe more, there has been a guy handing out Washington Post Express at Union Station. Every night, as I go to the Metro, he greets me with How are you doing Miss Lady? Have a good night!

I know he doesn't say that to me exclusively, but it seriously brightens up my day! One day I was leaving much earlier than usual, and he actually noticed and commented on that fact.

How nice it is that small human interactions like these can make one's day!

Say What???

Last night Jenn, Mas and I went to our favorite Korean restaurant. It was cold and we asked for tea. Our waitress brought us 3 cups of green tea and was horrified when I asked for some sugar. She looked at Jenn as if I was insane and said something in Korean, basically meaning: you don't add sugar to green tea.

Fine. I drank it as is. In the Chinese restaurants they always allow me to add sugar to my tea.

The food was as good as always, but this time I had to share my favorite mashed potatoes with peas with Mas.

Then, a couple came in, sat down, ordered their food and ordered green tea. The guy asked for sugar, and guess what??? They brought him a bowl of sugar! Maybe they thought I had a better palette and could handle it? It's a mystery...

S/He is back....

I don't know if it's a she or a he, but last night when I came home and was about to turn the lights off and go to bed, I saw it again!!!!!!!!!

Did you see those shoes?

This is the least political blog ever. In fact, I don't think I've ever made a political statement/comment here. Why? I guess despite the fact that I live in DC, politics really don't interest me that much. However, because everyone has been talking non-stop about the Vice Presidential debate, I felt like I should watch it.

Plus...there was no Grey's Anatomy.

The entire time I was watching the debate last night, I wished I would have counted the number of times Palin said "also." Not that I could have done a better job :) but then I'm not running for a VP. I also thought it was interesting how many times she mentioned the hard-to-pronounce names of foreign leaders: almost as if to separate herself from Bush, who messed up on a few of them.

Also, I was amazed how she stood for almost 2 hours in those high-heeled shoes without moving around or fidgeting: that takes a true stamina!

Poetry Inspired by Real Life

I saw a mouse in my house,

It gave me quite a scare.

I wish I had a boyfriend,

So I could sleep elsewhere.

Alas, I don't:

Let out a scream,

Jumped into my bed,

And wished it was a bad dream.

That was no help,

But I did not cry:
Calmed myself down

And let out a sigh.

I put on my makeup

And packed my dance shoes,

Took the train to Lucky Bar

To forget the blues.

Yep, this really happened to me last night! I was sitting on my couch, talking to Jenn, when I saw a mouse run from underneath my TV cabinet, across the carpet and down by the AC unit! I screamed, and screamed, and screamed. Hopefully the maintenance people will be able to resolve this furry issue.

Say What???

Yesterday I was at my dentist, yet again. She was working on the crown for my lower tooth, and all of a sudden told me to stick out my tongue. I guess I moved it while she was drilling my tooth and it got cut and was bleeding!!!

My dentist: "for someone so quiet, you have quite an active tongue."

Seriously?

Now it hurts to eat because everything seems to agitate it. She thought I could lose 5 pounds that way...right. (This was not the way I wanted to start Rosh Hashanah.)

Ooh, a rainbow!

Today I spent an entire day at home, looking over my answers to GRE diagnostic test, correcting my mistakes, reading over math section, etc, etc, etc.

The day was gloomy and cloudy, but then all of a sudden the skies cleared up and the sun came out. I contemplated going outside, but there was just too much to do. I stayed home. And then, it began pouring, hard! And what appeared? A rainbow!

Oh how perfectly this describes me!!!

Here's a passage from Twilight, a book Stacey highly recommended and lent to me.

That had always been my way, though. Making decisions was the painful part for me, the part I agonized over. But once the decision was made, I simply followed through--usually with relief that the choice was made. Sometimes the relief was tainted by despair...But it was still better than wrestling with the alternative.

How do I get better at making decisions? How do I minimize that period of agony? How do I alleviate the despair that exists even when the decision has been made?

18 Minutes

Last night I came home after a Happy Hour with Ashley and Carrie and decided I was too tired to clean. So, instead, I made a bit of room on my couch, and watched America's Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars. And had cookies with milk.

At 9 pm, when Bush started his speech on TV, I turned the TV off, but instead of cleaning, I watched One Tree Hill on Youtube. And then it was 10 pm, and the season premier of Lipstick Jungle.

At 11 pm I turned off my TV and decided to do a bit of cleaning because Jenn is coming over tonight, and even though we've been friends for a while, I'd be embarrassed for her to see the disarray that was my apartment. I loaded the dishwasher, collected the garbage, wiped off the kitchen counters, put my shoes away, put the random articles of clothes laying around my apartment into my walk-in closet, straightened up the bathroom and washed the bathroom sink, and a couple of other random tasks.

When I was done, it was 11:18. It only took me 18 minutes to make my apartment presentable. Now, obviously, it wasn't like I washed the floors and vacuumed. And there are still piles of stuff that could be put away or thrown away, but I am not embarrassed to have visitors now.

I know the lesson should be to do a bit of cleaning each day and to put everything in its place (something my dad has been trying to teach me ever since I was a little girl), but knowing me, that will not happen.

Still, it was so nice waking up to a cleaner place :)

Cookbook Contest

For those of you who mostly read this blog, I wanted to let you know that I'm having a contest on my Mango & Tomato blog. When you leave a comment about your least favorite food word, you'll be entered to win a cookbook.

He's BACK!!!!!!!!!!

Remember last year I wrote about my love for Dancing with the Stars show? It is back!

And the best part? My favorite dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy is back this season. Love him! A lot :)

That's all I have to say for now...

Thursdays and Sundays will not be the same...

I'm very excited about the return of some of my favorite shows. Some of them, Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives, however, will just not be the same.

Why? Because I used to watch them with my friend Paige, who lived on the same floor in my apartment building. But then she moved to Atlanta, and now I'll have to watch them on my own. Rather sad.

We used to have a great time getting together, snacking, sometimes painting our nails, watching & discussing the shows. Guess now we'll just have to move our discussions to an on-line format.

Sigh.

Volunteering: Picking Food For Those in Need

I'm a Volunteer group coordinator for meetinDC, and today with 4 other meetin members and many other volunteers we gathered at USDA to gather cucumbers, pumpkins and butternut squash, which will be later donated to DC food kitchens and food banks.

It was a lot of work, but well worth it. And I was also able to take home a few pumpkins and butternut squashes (sp?).

A new dress

This evening, Wendy and I will be volunteering at the Kennedy Center for the Helping Children Soar benefit organized by Children's Law Center. This is the same event I volunteered at last year.

I really wanted to buy a new dress for this event. Monday I went to a few stores at the Union Station, but could not find anything. Then on the way home I stopped by at Ann Taylor Loft, and of course started with the sales racks. Seriously, I cannot remember the last time I bought something that wasn't on sale.

There I saw a really pretty dress (see the picture to the left), but unfortunately it wasn't on sale: someone mistakenly put it there. I decided to try it on, and really liked it!

What to do??? I bought it! I think in the end it is a good investment, and it makes me feel pretty. And who knows, if it goes on sale within two weeks, I can get my money back.

Say What???

Back from dancing: it was rather mediocre. Hardly any of "my men" were there, so I did a lot of standing around. One of the guys, I've never seen him before, finally came over and asked if I was a security guard or a dancing instructor.

Say What?

I wonder if he was disappointed when I told him I was neither. Guess wearing jeans and a black t-shirt with a "Rock Star" logo on it makes me look like a security guard...not smiling too much probably doesn't help either.

Sigh

The shoes that could have been...

On Saturday before going to DC Shorts Film Festival, Wendy and I went to DSW for shoe shopping. Technically, I was only supposed to be window shopping. It was Wendy who was looking for a specific pair of shoes, and I was there to give some advice.

But you know me: I love shoes. Even though I have pairs and pairs of shoes I haven't worn in a while, I could always use another pair.

During the summer I really wanted a pair of yellow shoes, but alas, summer is over and there are still no yellow shoes in my closet.

For this fall season, I want a pair of purple shoes. Purple seems to be the new color this season and I want it!

I found a really cute pair of Nicole "Volunteer Shoes" at DSW on sale: they are the same as the picture above, but in a pretty purple color. I nearly bought them, but at the last minute decided to put them back on a shelf: after wearing them in the store for 20 minutes, the really killed my feet. I'm really sad they did not come home with me.

And the search continues...

Oh What a Great Night!

Last night was so much fun!

Wendy emailed me last month about DC Shorts Film Festival, and we decided to go to the opening night with Jenn and Wendy's friend Joel, and his friend John.

The screening was held at E street, so before the movie, Jenn, Wendy and I met up at Chipotle for dinner. Yes, I like fancy food, but sometimes Chipotle just hits the spot :) Unfortunately, due to Metro delays, we had only about 20 minutes to eat: it was not enough time: I felt like I was literally breathing in my food without fully enjoying it.

But back to the movies. The opening night included twelve short films ranging in subjects from sex trafficking to adultery to Irish Twins and possible suicide on The Brooklyn Bridge. I really enjoyed most of the films, even though some had endings that did not really reveal what happened. The Irish Twins film had several unexpected twists, which really held one's attention.

One of my favorites was Happily Ever After: you really have to see it to understand what happens, or at least how the movie was constructed. And bonus points: there was a great soundtrack.

After the screening, there was a short panel discussion with the films' producers/directors and then an after party on a rooftop of a nearby office building. How totally fun!?! The weather was gorgeous; we had great views of the Washington Monument and The Capital building. There were free drinks and free food and live music entertainment. Two vodka/apple juice combos and one glass of white wine later, I was a pretty happy girl. And of course the company was fun too.

That's why I love living in DC: so much culture!

Saturday Wendy and I are going back for another collection of shorts. Cannot wait.

Things that make me smile

During the trip to Montreal (yes, I promise to eventually stop talking about it) Anna, Erica and I visited the Musée D'Art Contemporain De Montréal, and my favorite exhibit contained photographs and statues of Logopagus. I don't know if it's because I'm a twin, or because I wear glasses, but I found something endearing and humorous about these two conjoined twins. They make me smile.

This was one of my favorite photos at the exhibit. I have no idea what it means/represents, but it just made me smile.

Something else that makes me smile is John and Kate Plus 8. Not sure if that's because in college I had a crush on someone who looks like John, or the eight adorable children, but anytime I'm at the gym watching Project Runway and switch to TLC during the commercials and see John and Kate Plus 8 show, I have a big smile on my face.

It's really the little things in life ;)

Jewelry Clinic

Remember my yellow necklace? I really liked its design, but the chains kept on coming out from the beads because the loops weren't tightly looped (yes, I can't speak English anymore). Yesterday I went to Wendy's with a few other girls for brunch and to bead. Instead of starting on a new project, I decided to fix my necklace. I used real silver wire to do a wrapping technique around each yellow bead to make sure the connecting chains will not be able to separate. Hopefully the pictures will make it clear ;)

I also re-did the green bracelet I made a few months ago in Seattle. This time the clasp is actually functional!

Random Pictures of Montreal

What we did in Montreal

Here's a quick itinerary of things Anna, Erica and I did in Montreal over the Labor Day weekend:

Saturday
* Canadian Center for Architecture (on my own): I had a private tour because no one else showed up. The building was beautiful: it's partially an original building and partially a new addition. It houses the 3rd best known architectural library in the world! There were no pictures allowed inside (ditto for most other museums), but I did take a few outside pictures of the sculpture garden
* Lunch in China Town: Vietnamese: not bad, but not amazing (by this point Anna and Erica have arrived)
* Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal: quite interesting exhibits; again: no pictures. The museeum has a very pretty garden with a fountain outside. My favorite thing, however, were life statues of conjoined twin characters (reminder: find out the name and include the link)
* Dinner at Trinity: a beautiful Greek tapas restaurant. The portions were rather small, but we managed to get full. It was really nice to sit outside, other than the fact that everyone and their mother smokes in Montreal
* After dinner, Erica wanted to check out La Boom club...omg, we were at least 10 years older than the other 5 people in the club; the music was lame; the club looked ghetto--> we left after 10 minutes (good thing we at least did not have to pay the cover: our hotel gave us free passes).
* After escaping La Boom, Anna and I went to a salsa club 64/9 conveniently located 3 blocks from our hotel! LOVED IT! The music was awesome, people asked us to dance: it was great. I stayed only till 1:30 am (because I woke up at 4 am the previous day), but Anna stayed there till almost 3 am! What a trooper ;)

Sunday
* The plan was to wake up super early to go to Atwater Market. That did not happen, but we still managed to get there by 10 am. It was lovely. Very fresh produce, flowers, cheese, baked goods, and we also had breakfast there
* We then went to the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal to see the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit: it was astonishing to see how someone can be capable of designing such pretty clothing ensembles. And also, it is amazing to look at the workmanship of men and women who actually made those garments. Some of my favorites were the jackets inspired by Van Gogh's paintings.
* and then it was time for a nap
* Then, we took a trolley through the Montreal Botanical Garden.
* Next on the list was Old Montreal and dinner at The Keg: steak, baked potatoes, salad and unlimited glasses of Diet Pepsi. It was good. Oh, and mojitos! Old Montreal is very pretty: old streets, outside cafes and restaurants, families and couples walking around. We also attempted to do some shopping, but that just did not happen.
* Back to 64/9 for salsa

Monday
* Anna and Erica were leaving at 1 pm, so Anna decided she just wanted to visit the Latin Quarter, have breakfast and walk around for a bit. Breakfast was good, but once again, we were unsuccessful in our shopping endeavours (other than Erica!).
* after the girls left I took a 2 hour nap. And then I tried to decide if I really wanted to get out of bed and explore more of the City or just stay in, order room service and watch HGTV and TLC.
* I ended up going to the Mount Royal, and I'm really glad I did: the views were beautiful, it was nice to go and spend some time in the nature (lol). The only thing, I was surrounded by couples and groups of friends, and big families barbecuing and picnicking, which all made me somewhat sad
* I then went to another little neighborhood around Prince Arthur Street: people sitting, eating and drinking outside; lights; music; couples kissing by the fountain: right: not for me. So I ordered some Indian food and headed back to my hotel room. Ate, watched TV and went dancing, because after all, it was Monday

Tuesday
* My last day in Montreal. The only thing I did, which was so worth it, was a trip to The Original Fairmount Bagel Bakery, where I had a sesame seed bagel with cream cheese and lox: divine!

Then it was time to pick up my bags, and fly back to reality.

Thoughts: overall, I really liked Montreal. It was great to hear French language, enjoy the old architecture, taste great food, dance some salsa, and of course spend time with Anna and Erica. I wish less people smoked, and that they were just a bit nicer. I also wish it wasn't so expensive. But, I would still highly recommend Montreal as a vacation spot. Till next time!

Flowers in Montreal

I love flowers. I love taking pictures of flowers. Below are just "a few" pictures I took while in Montreal (just on the streets, or in parks or at the Botanical Garden). Disclosure: I edited the photos to brighten up the colors.

Missed me? I'm back.

I'm back from a 4 day vacation in Montreal with Anna and Erica, Anna's friend from CIA. Last night I was too tired to work on my pictures and to write an update, but I promise to post something today or tomorrow. I know...it's hard to wait ;)

In other news, my apartment has been repainted and although it smells like paint, I'm very happy with the new clean walls. I now need to re-arrange the furniture, hang pictures and mirrors and vacuum the carpet. My back is not too happy about it!

After eating out for 4 days, I also need to go grocery shopping: quite miss the cooking process, and maybe even make an appearance at the gym: Project Runway!

In the words of Jenny, tootles.