Break Ups

My dad is a pro at saying something that makes for a good story after a break up. Unfortunately, my little sister’s first boyfriend just broke up with her for that classic guy reason of “I can’t commit; I’m not ready to be in a relationship.” Apparently it is part of their DNA. My girlfriends all had a good laugh over that line as it was familiar to most of them. Upon breaking up with my college boyfriend, my dad’s words of wisdom were “It will be okay. You’ll find someone else and if not, dogs make for good, loyal companions.”

Fast forward a few years to my first real adult breakup, right after Inauguration. My dad had been in town for the festivities. I’m not sure if that prompted his response but when I told him about my breakup, his first response was “Well, maybe you can date someone who works for Obama.” So naturally I was curious to see what he would say to my sister. His words of wisdom this third time around were “Well, that’s life. And you can spend quality time with your dog.”

The Shoes Gave it Away

I refuse to wear sneakers on my commute. In a city like DC, you never know who you are going to meet. And when I just *happen* to run into the First Lady I intend to look my best. So, in a move that goes against practicality I never, never wear sneakers on the commute to work. Instead I wear the heels I intend to wear that day, despite my solid 15 minute walk to work, or at the very least flats that match my outfit. My girlfriends know this about me and think its funny, which it is.

So one night this week one of my girlfriends thinks she sees me ahead of her, getting out of the subway. The hair looks like me and the outfit looks like something I would wear. My friend walks closer, following her out of the subway. And then something stops her cold in her tracks: the girl has tennis shoes on. Alter Ego friend turned around right then and there, thinking to herself “Well, that can’t be JayGirl because I know she would never wear tennis shoes on her commute.” To which we all had a good laugh about later because really it's charming she knows me so well.

Ambiguity

Recently, I went to an event with lots of other Peace Corps nominees and invitees. It was great to meet people going through the same goofy stage of life I am, of not knowing what country they will spend two years of their life in, or when they will find out. Despite this craziness, they were remarkably cool, normal people. My sense is normal, cool people are who I am going to want to have with me on this adventure.

But it got me thinking, for all the ambiguity now, it may even be more crazy when this is real, when there is a date and a country attached to it, a plane ticket to somewhere on a specific date, and the goodbyes become real.

Gorgeous

I regularly volunteer with kids and they never leave me without a cute story to pass on. Tonight was no exception. I befriended a three year old boy and we had a great hour or so together before his mom picked him up. She said to him "I see you've made a new friend. What's her name?" He thought for a minute and then said "Gorgeous. Her name's gorgeous." His mom questioned him for a minute, unconvinced (as she should have been) that my name really was Gorgeous. But she let it go and as he waved goodbye to me he said "Goodnight, Gorgeous!"

The Gentlemen Callers

A while back, a girlfriend of mine who lives in Arlington ventured into my gentrifying neighborhood. For those not from DC, Arlington is a pretty, clean, safe and mostly white suburban area right outside the majority minority DC. So needless to say, she was outside her comfort zone. Describing the experience to me a few days later, she talked of how she felt unsafe thanks to the cat calls and comments made by the men on the street. "They cat called you?" I replied, incredulous. "They don't cat call at me any more."

See, living where I do I have come to regard the comments of these "gentleman callers" as an indication of how I look on a given day or evening. One night, the first - and only - night I tried to pull off the leggings look when going out, I knew it was a good look thanks to the multiple "Girl, you look good,"-s directed at me en route from my apartment to the dance floor. In a weird way, I missed these comments while on vacation in Barcelona, where people were surprisingly reserved, and of course in England.

But this week has been a particularly flattering one from my gentleman callers. My favorite comments from the week include:

-"Damn girl, you look good!" from a bus driver as I was on my way to the metro for work.
-"This street is beautiful women central tonight," said a guy to his friend as they walked out the door of an apartment building while my alter ego friend and I walked by.
-"I've been waiting for you. You were supposed to be here five minutes ago," a guy said to me as I was exploring my neighborhood.

Never a dull moment in the city!

Post-Vacation Blues

Lately I've been experiencing the post-vacation blues. I've realized I'm not in Western Europe, as pretty as some of the DC architecture is. That body of water outside my office is not the Mediterranean; it's the Potomac. Rather than sleeping in daily, followed by mindlessly wandering around exploring the city, art museums and galleries, I have to go to work. Cappuccino breaks every two hours are not exactly encouraged at my employer. The late-night lifestyle and midnight dinners of tapas does not exactly coincide with getting to work at 8:30 in the morning, either.

So what's a girl to do? Well, I am trying to infuse daily doses of "vacation" into my lifestyle and attempting to maintain that sense of complete relaxation one has upon returning from vacation. A few minor lifestyle changes have done me well. For starters, I've been getting to work earlier so I can leave earlier and have more of a life on week nights. My lunch time routine of eating a peanut butter sandwich while continuing to work at my desk (precious minutes saved multitasking!) has been replaced with a daily walk by the river during lunch (although the peanut butter sandwich remains). My increased vacation levels of coffee have been maintained, with a cup in the afternoon as well as the morning. And I do feel more relaxed, so... I guess that will hold me over until the next vacation!

Vacation

Just a quick note to say I'm on vacation ~ hence no posts! Yay for cappuccinos & European sunshine. Plus English pints... Cheers!