In my effort to join the Peace Corps while still leading a busy life (causing me to procrastinate incredibly on the paperwork), I am still in the midst of the nomination process. A few things have slowed me down, namely the fact that I'm treasuring the moments I am having with friends in DC right now, life is hectic, and work has been busy. But I got what *should* be the last of my medical info over to them last week.
After yoga on Sunday, I went to coffee with a girlfriend who had volunteered to answer any questions I had about Peace Corps as she served in China. My one question for her was: "How do you deconstruct your life here and go somewhere else?" Tonight as I am looking at the application toolkit there are all sorts of checklists. Checklists for making sure you get your medical forms in, your legal stuff taken care, and so on. Where's the checklist for "How do you transplant your life to another continent?" It seems the harder things in life do not come with checklists.
My friend's simple answer was: "You just do."
Monday, October 4, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
The Talk
Last night the most hilarious thing happened, at least in terms of dating relationships. Back in late May, I had a blind date with a guy who amazingly, despite my streak of bad dates, was not crazy and in fact met two out of three of my deal breakers. For some people, serious things like religion or family values are deal breakers. Not me: 1) Must live in DC. (This has actually been surprisingly difficult); 2) Must share my politics; 3) Must like to travel.
Enter Blind Date Boy. We've been dating since our late May connection through mutual friends. He's the first boy I've dated since I've lived in DC who both lives in the District and has a full-time job. He meets my first two deal breakers but is not as much of a traveler as I am. But I've been doing enough travel these days for the both of us so that one's OK right now.
Anyway I've been avoiding "the talk" which I've learned is referred to as the State of the Relationship address, DTR for Define the Relationship, and any myraid of other names. Every time I bring this up with a friend they're like "Wha??? You haven't had the talk?" Um, no.
So the funny thing last night is he brought up the talk as in we haven't had it, we laughed about how we haven't had "the talk," and then we still didn't have the talk. I like hanging out with him, he likes hanging out with me, end of story.
Enter Blind Date Boy. We've been dating since our late May connection through mutual friends. He's the first boy I've dated since I've lived in DC who both lives in the District and has a full-time job. He meets my first two deal breakers but is not as much of a traveler as I am. But I've been doing enough travel these days for the both of us so that one's OK right now.
Anyway I've been avoiding "the talk" which I've learned is referred to as the State of the Relationship address, DTR for Define the Relationship, and any myraid of other names. Every time I bring this up with a friend they're like "Wha??? You haven't had the talk?" Um, no.
So the funny thing last night is he brought up the talk as in we haven't had it, we laughed about how we haven't had "the talk," and then we still didn't have the talk. I like hanging out with him, he likes hanging out with me, end of story.
It's October
So... wow! Time has flown by. I moved about 6 weeks ago & am loving fall in this big, old DC brownstone. I am now exactly 1 block from my favorite bar in my neighborhood and 2 blocks from the grocery store. Life is convenient, what can I say? The best part though is the girls I'm living with. After living alone, its great to have the easygoing, fun company of this bunch.
Work has been *crazy* with travel and just general craziness lately but I am going to try to re-commit to the blog this month as I'm not on travel. Fall is in the air too and that's my favorite season to write about. Stay tuned!
Work has been *crazy* with travel and just general craziness lately but I am going to try to re-commit to the blog this month as I'm not on travel. Fall is in the air too and that's my favorite season to write about. Stay tuned!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Weddings, Big 10 Country Style
I did a terrible thing to my mom the first weekend in August - but it turned out alright in the end. Two of my good college girlfriends were getting married on the same weekend. One was a brunch wedding on Notre Dame's campus; the other an evening wedding in Madison, WI. Being that South Bend and Madison are much closer together than, say, DC and either of those cities, I though - why not go to both weddings? Then I get to be part of both these friends' special days.
So off I went to the morning wedding by myself at Notre Dame. It was a lovely wedding though I did not know anyone except the bride and groom. Personally I thought it was genius of the bride to have a brunch wedding as that's about my favorite meal. The significance of not knowing anyone at the wedding is that I was going to be drinking mimosas by myself. When I called my mom between the wedding and reception I told her just that and I don't think she believed me. Ha! Proved her wrong. I downed a few mimosas while making friends with the bride's grad school friends. After brunch and congratulating the bride & groom, I was on my way with my mom (and sister in tow) to Madison.
Five fairly contentious car ride hours and a couple of outbursts later we arrived in Madison, threw on our outfits for wedding #2 (my mom was my date) and made our way there. We had missed the wedding itself but arrived at the beginning of the reception, in time for the toasts & all. My college girlfriends & I got our groove on, catching up & dancing. Being that we are all Minnesota alums, bride included, we went up to the DJ to make sure he played the Minnesota Rouser. His response? "I am a Wisconsin alum." Negotiation ensued for the next five minutes, with him making excuses - "I don't have the Minnesota Rouser" and "I don't know where to find it" - until he finally came around, provided he could also play the Wisconsin fight song, which we deemed appropriate given the bride is also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin. It was a fabulous moment, one in which I knew I was back in Big 10 country.
And the plus side of dragging my mom on this marathon wedding weekend is it finally ended a debate we'd been having for years about my own fictitious wedding. While I recognize weddings are celebrating marriage, a commitment to one another, love, et cetera at the end of the day I want my own wedding to be a fabulous dance party. I happen to believe good food and an open bar help dance parties be their most fabulous. My mom differed, believing open bars and really drinking in general at weddings was an unnecessary expense.
Well, after three signature cocktails (yes - the bride had a signature cocktail for her wedding) at wedding #2 my mom changed her mind.
So off I went to the morning wedding by myself at Notre Dame. It was a lovely wedding though I did not know anyone except the bride and groom. Personally I thought it was genius of the bride to have a brunch wedding as that's about my favorite meal. The significance of not knowing anyone at the wedding is that I was going to be drinking mimosas by myself. When I called my mom between the wedding and reception I told her just that and I don't think she believed me. Ha! Proved her wrong. I downed a few mimosas while making friends with the bride's grad school friends. After brunch and congratulating the bride & groom, I was on my way with my mom (and sister in tow) to Madison.
Five fairly contentious car ride hours and a couple of outbursts later we arrived in Madison, threw on our outfits for wedding #2 (my mom was my date) and made our way there. We had missed the wedding itself but arrived at the beginning of the reception, in time for the toasts & all. My college girlfriends & I got our groove on, catching up & dancing. Being that we are all Minnesota alums, bride included, we went up to the DJ to make sure he played the Minnesota Rouser. His response? "I am a Wisconsin alum." Negotiation ensued for the next five minutes, with him making excuses - "I don't have the Minnesota Rouser" and "I don't know where to find it" - until he finally came around, provided he could also play the Wisconsin fight song, which we deemed appropriate given the bride is also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin. It was a fabulous moment, one in which I knew I was back in Big 10 country.
And the plus side of dragging my mom on this marathon wedding weekend is it finally ended a debate we'd been having for years about my own fictitious wedding. While I recognize weddings are celebrating marriage, a commitment to one another, love, et cetera at the end of the day I want my own wedding to be a fabulous dance party. I happen to believe good food and an open bar help dance parties be their most fabulous. My mom differed, believing open bars and really drinking in general at weddings was an unnecessary expense.
Well, after three signature cocktails (yes - the bride had a signature cocktail for her wedding) at wedding #2 my mom changed her mind.
Moving Day!
It's moving day! Today I made one of the best decisions of my life: hiring movers. While I sit in my empty bedroom and blog one last time from my single girl apartment two attractive, buff men are loading my belongings into a truck. I am actually getting some me time to enjoy on this day off work for... work.
I am looking forward to living in the new place. It's a beautiful old row house, DC style. Hard wood floors, high ceilings, an elegant staircase, and more. I am living with roommates again, four nice twenty-something girls. It will be a nice change of pace. I am one of those rare people who kind of likes moving. I like cathartic act of packing and cleaning things out, followed by the opportunity to create a new space.
I am looking forward to living in the new place. It's a beautiful old row house, DC style. Hard wood floors, high ceilings, an elegant staircase, and more. I am living with roommates again, four nice twenty-something girls. It will be a nice change of pace. I am one of those rare people who kind of likes moving. I like cathartic act of packing and cleaning things out, followed by the opportunity to create a new space.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Life Lessons: Beer & Business Lunches
Life lesson learned today: Even if you attend a business lunch at a brewery, even if you order a beer with lunch in part because everyone else is, it's still not a good idea to choose the fancy Belgian style beer with over 10% alcohol content.
I'm Moving! Apartment Nostalgia
I'm moving next week! My alter ego girlfriend lives in an awesome group house that I got a spot in. The impetus for the move is twofold: living with cool people and saving money. My hope is the money I save goes to the "dreams" account - funds to pursue some of the aspirations I still have for my twenties.
My apartment rented out really quick, which makes my heart happy. A couple viewed it & fell in love with it. They loved how I had it set up, from my orange wall to the furniture and more. Can't exactly explain why that makes me happy, but it does.
Though I am excited to move, there are some things about living alone I will miss. For example, if/when I eat ice cream for dinner, no one judges me. If I forget to bring my towel into the bathroom, it's no big deal. I can sit in the bath for a while and just relax. And I like lazy weekend mornings (well, and afternoons) where I stay in my pajamas all day. But alas, those times will come again.
P.S. As I write this blog post, one of the Presidential helicopter is flying over my apartment. Just in case you forgot I live in DC.
My apartment rented out really quick, which makes my heart happy. A couple viewed it & fell in love with it. They loved how I had it set up, from my orange wall to the furniture and more. Can't exactly explain why that makes me happy, but it does.
Though I am excited to move, there are some things about living alone I will miss. For example, if/when I eat ice cream for dinner, no one judges me. If I forget to bring my towel into the bathroom, it's no big deal. I can sit in the bath for a while and just relax. And I like lazy weekend mornings (well, and afternoons) where I stay in my pajamas all day. But alas, those times will come again.
P.S. As I write this blog post, one of the Presidential helicopter is flying over my apartment. Just in case you forgot I live in DC.
