I leave DC in 5 days. After close to 5 years of living in the DMV, I am oddly calm about the move. Now that I'm out of my apartment and done with work, it feels like a vacation. Nicole left 10 days ago, which was emotional. After our last sleepover was over, we had a few tears but I've kept seriously busy since then. A trip to the beach kept my mind off the move and the city. My last week of work was full of dinners and happy hours and packing. I'm spending this week with Rachael, studying for the statistics test that I'm praying I can prepare myself for, and doing last minute preparations for the big drive. I'm excited to write about the drive because I think it's going to be quite the adventure. To start us off, I'll go ahead and explain my packing situation.
The 1996 black Honda Accord EX that drove me to countless violin lessons, soccer practices, various school functions, and back and forth to the Lake multiple times is making one last epic journey from DC to Austin. I acquired this car last August when Nicole and I drove it back from Rhode Island. I essentially learned to drive stick on that horrendous drive, during which we were stuck in the Bronx for two hours. I stalled about 600 times and was coached by various truck drivers. In the end, we made it, and it's been good to me for this year.
I packed it up Monday night with Whitney while we split a bottle of wine and the trunk is now a major engineering feat. Most of my life is in there, the rest of it will go in the backseat. I had to buy a set of Space Bags- those vacuum seal storage bags- for my clothes and bedding in order for everything to fit. I'm still not 100% sure everything will fit, since Rach helped me drive some things to her place, but I think it will be OK. There are a few things I'm ok with getting rid of anyway. So there it is, the Honda is half-packed and ready to go. I bought a Road Atlas yesterday and have highlighted the journey on various states' pages. It will be 9 days, 10 states (I think), and many many many miles. And yes, the odometer really is broken. Except it's actually halfway between 243,499 and 243,500. Hopefully there isn't any traffic...
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
I want more memories
Today marks one week left in DC with my roommate. She starts her move to Atlanta early next Friday morning, so we have dates planned. We'll make eggplant pizza , have dinner in the city , watch West Wing on the couch together, and then probably cry a lot. I'm not one to admit that I'm an emotional mess every once in a while, but this is certainly one of the times I don't mind. The strangest part about all of this is that she'll never again live with her girlfriends. I could potentially do the roommate thing my second year in graduate school or even afterward, but she's moving in with Jim. So she is officially committing to watching lots of football on Sunday and accepting the fact that she will never again have a live-in manicurist. So our last weekend in DC will be spent smuggling a bottle of wine around the monuments, packing and watching bad romantic comedies, and eating eggplant pizza. Oh eggplant, I owe Nicole my love of that odd fruit. And a whole lot else.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Ok, we're trying this one more time...
Since moving to Texas from the eastern seaboard is practically like studying abroad, I figured that this particular adventure might constitute a legitimate attempt at blogging again. I was recently reading a few of my posts from my time in Rome and was inspired once more. I imagine I will spend quite a bit of my time in the library, in varying states of delirium and stress, and will provide both an outlet for me and an inlet for you into my new life deep in the heart of Texas.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The GRE's life lesson.
I failed the GRE. And by "fail" I mean I did not do as well as I would have liked. More specifically, I did well on the Math section and horribly on the Verbal section, meaning I have to take it again should I have any hope of getting into graduate school. I left the testing facility and literally cried for three hours. On L Street downtown, sitting at Potbelly's, in Nicole's office bathroom, on the phone with my Mom, on the phone with Jared (who was telling me that he had tickets to Game 2 of the World Series), and then into Nicole's shoulder before I began drowning my sorrows in margaritas.
It was a low point. I had let myself down entirely, everything was crumbling down around me, and there was little hope of my plan of graduate school getting off the ground. That's how I felt anyway. Then I had a few dinners with my mother and an accompanying revelation. My reaction to my GRE score was completely irrational. It was actually less rational than when I stood on a chair during the ninth inning of Game 4 of the 2004 World Series- still petrified the Sox would blow that 3-0 lead. (Go ahead and mutter your I-hate-Boston-fans comment to yourself now). I had been relying solely on the score of a completely ridiculous standardized test to make me feel ok about my life. And when I thought about how I had gotten to a point where I needed something so trivial to make me feel good again, I realized I had been allowing myself to be absorbed by negativity.
I have been focusing on the parts of my job that I don't like, rather than enjoying my co-workers and the experience. I have been hating on DC for months, planning an escape rather than taking advantage of the city while I am here. So I'm turning it around- I'm ready to enjoy myself...
Eleni, a woman that works as our study leader in Greece, just gave a presentation at our staff meeting during which she said, "The years between college and 30 should be an odyssey. Do with those years what you want. Do everything". That's what I'm going with.
It was a low point. I had let myself down entirely, everything was crumbling down around me, and there was little hope of my plan of graduate school getting off the ground. That's how I felt anyway. Then I had a few dinners with my mother and an accompanying revelation. My reaction to my GRE score was completely irrational. It was actually less rational than when I stood on a chair during the ninth inning of Game 4 of the 2004 World Series- still petrified the Sox would blow that 3-0 lead. (Go ahead and mutter your I-hate-Boston-fans comment to yourself now). I had been relying solely on the score of a completely ridiculous standardized test to make me feel ok about my life. And when I thought about how I had gotten to a point where I needed something so trivial to make me feel good again, I realized I had been allowing myself to be absorbed by negativity.
I have been focusing on the parts of my job that I don't like, rather than enjoying my co-workers and the experience. I have been hating on DC for months, planning an escape rather than taking advantage of the city while I am here. So I'm turning it around- I'm ready to enjoy myself...
Eleni, a woman that works as our study leader in Greece, just gave a presentation at our staff meeting during which she said, "The years between college and 30 should be an odyssey. Do with those years what you want. Do everything". That's what I'm going with.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Stop hating, you wish you were JD Drew
Up until Saturday (October 20th) evening, most of Red Sox Nation was so frustrated with J.D. Drew's un-Sox like lack of passion for the game, they were hoping for him to bleed Jake Westbrook's count before ending the first. He shocked and suprised everyone at Fenway and everyone watching (or receiving text message updates in the stands of Byrd Stadium). When I got back-to-back texts from Jared watching in LA and Nick from New York, I could hardly believe what I was reading. 68 minutes after that first message came Nick's "10-1 end of 3" message that allowed me to fully involve myself in the Terps game. The following afternoon, I watched the Pats school the Dolphins to go 7-0, with one Brady TD pass being caught by Randy Moss' elbow. He literally picked this thing out of the sky in double coverage without looking. Sunday night, I anxiously awaited the beginning of a game that would make or break my week and the life of a certain Japanese import who I'm pretty certain was ready to submit himself to an honor killing should he blow another start. When that game ended and the ALCS champions celebrated, I got to watch Jonathan Papelbon (arguably the closer with the most intimidating stare down in baseball) do an Irish jig in his underwear.
And this is what it's like in Boston. Can you imagine Mariano Rivera doing a jig after a win like that? Try to imagine Barry Bonds doing a special on local sports television during which he demonstrates how to make his own mango salsa, like Papi did a few years ago. Doubtful. Are there other exciting young players like Pedroia out there in the rest of Major League baseball? Of course. But really rack your brain to think of another big time closer that dances around in his underwear after a victory. And try to think of a more loveable big man than Papi. Even Manny, who I spend more time defending than OJ Simpson's girlfriend must spend convincing herself that it's a good idea to date a murderer, consistently comes through when most needed. And he may have, as Bill Simmons explains, one speed regardless of whether he's trotting home after a 2-run bomb or running out of a burning building, he can still play that wall better than anyone. And he can throw. Usually. I would argue that his most valuable contribution to the team is keeping the clubhouse loose. Even though I wanted to wring his neck after his post-game interview after game 4 of the ALCS in Cleveland, I understood that his attitude is relaxed and that is how you need him if he's going to be at all successful at the plate. There is no other team out there like the Boston Red Sox, and there's no other fan base like Red Sox Nation. So, in honor of all the haters, I give you, three reasons you should all shut the hell up.
It's not my fault I came of age during a Boston sports orgy.
All those who feel Boston doesn't deserve a World Series team, a 7-0 NFL juggernaut, a C's team that actually has people excited to watch basketball again, a relevant NHL team, and the Number 2 ranked college football team in the nations, raise your hand. Everyone outside of the greater Boston area save a retirement community in Tampa and a few scattered Boston-native college students just grimmaced because I reminded them, again, that Boston's sports karma is unlike anything they've ever seen prior to 2007. Ok, I apologize for being a native daughter of a town where the teams have game.
We wouldn't be any less annoying if we'd lost in '04.
I'll give it to you, Sox fans are loud, obnoxious, and have accents that, if I wasn't from New England, would likely make my skin crawl too. But there is absolutely no chance that I would be any less intense (and vocal) about my love for the Sox if they lost in 2004. I realize that the win took away a large piece of baseball lore and history, but it gave a whole lot back as well. Those who believe they would be happier if Red Sox Nation was still nursing wounds of Babe's curse, do not appreciate the significance of coming back from a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series against an arch rival. That's sports legend for you.
.... took a little break (6 days to watch the Sox win the World Series and the Pats demolish the Redskins) so I'll finish up now.....
If you're going to bitch about the Pats running up the score, do something about it
Randall Godfrey, of the Redskins, told Bill Belichick on Sunday that he should "show some respect for the game". You know what? You should try to win a football game. I understand why everyone hates the Patriots. They're cocky, perfect, and this is a season of vengence. If you want to go for Tom Brady's knees in the fourth quarter when he's still playing in a game that I could QB and still win, go for it. You're just pissed you can't get to him. This is the NFL, a professional league with a salary cap. There is no mercy rule in the NFL for good reason. The league is designed to be fair, with evenly matched teams using similar resources. Are Brady and Belichick going for the "eff-you" touchdown a little early lately? Maybe. Is it going to come back and bite the team in the ass? I think so. Am I enjoying seeing all those TDs? Absolutely.
Ok... so my original intention was for this list to be a lot longer. But I'm satisfied. Sox World Series champs.... Mike Lowell MVP and a 23 year old cancer survivor with the win in Game 4? That's what Boston loves- gritty "Dirt Dogs" with heart. A team that doesn't always rely on their big men to win. I'm on cloud 9. Even if Eric Gagne gets a ring, this team is well managed, confident, and lose enough to not need every single blockbuster trade to work out. And keep in mind, all of this happened just a day and a half before the Yankees announced Joe Girardi as their next manager. That guy just looks evil.
And this is what it's like in Boston. Can you imagine Mariano Rivera doing a jig after a win like that? Try to imagine Barry Bonds doing a special on local sports television during which he demonstrates how to make his own mango salsa, like Papi did a few years ago. Doubtful. Are there other exciting young players like Pedroia out there in the rest of Major League baseball? Of course. But really rack your brain to think of another big time closer that dances around in his underwear after a victory. And try to think of a more loveable big man than Papi. Even Manny, who I spend more time defending than OJ Simpson's girlfriend must spend convincing herself that it's a good idea to date a murderer, consistently comes through when most needed. And he may have, as Bill Simmons explains, one speed regardless of whether he's trotting home after a 2-run bomb or running out of a burning building, he can still play that wall better than anyone. And he can throw. Usually. I would argue that his most valuable contribution to the team is keeping the clubhouse loose. Even though I wanted to wring his neck after his post-game interview after game 4 of the ALCS in Cleveland, I understood that his attitude is relaxed and that is how you need him if he's going to be at all successful at the plate. There is no other team out there like the Boston Red Sox, and there's no other fan base like Red Sox Nation. So, in honor of all the haters, I give you, three reasons you should all shut the hell up.
It's not my fault I came of age during a Boston sports orgy.
All those who feel Boston doesn't deserve a World Series team, a 7-0 NFL juggernaut, a C's team that actually has people excited to watch basketball again, a relevant NHL team, and the Number 2 ranked college football team in the nations, raise your hand. Everyone outside of the greater Boston area save a retirement community in Tampa and a few scattered Boston-native college students just grimmaced because I reminded them, again, that Boston's sports karma is unlike anything they've ever seen prior to 2007. Ok, I apologize for being a native daughter of a town where the teams have game.
We wouldn't be any less annoying if we'd lost in '04.
I'll give it to you, Sox fans are loud, obnoxious, and have accents that, if I wasn't from New England, would likely make my skin crawl too. But there is absolutely no chance that I would be any less intense (and vocal) about my love for the Sox if they lost in 2004. I realize that the win took away a large piece of baseball lore and history, but it gave a whole lot back as well. Those who believe they would be happier if Red Sox Nation was still nursing wounds of Babe's curse, do not appreciate the significance of coming back from a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series against an arch rival. That's sports legend for you.
.... took a little break (6 days to watch the Sox win the World Series and the Pats demolish the Redskins) so I'll finish up now.....
If you're going to bitch about the Pats running up the score, do something about it
Randall Godfrey, of the Redskins, told Bill Belichick on Sunday that he should "show some respect for the game". You know what? You should try to win a football game. I understand why everyone hates the Patriots. They're cocky, perfect, and this is a season of vengence. If you want to go for Tom Brady's knees in the fourth quarter when he's still playing in a game that I could QB and still win, go for it. You're just pissed you can't get to him. This is the NFL, a professional league with a salary cap. There is no mercy rule in the NFL for good reason. The league is designed to be fair, with evenly matched teams using similar resources. Are Brady and Belichick going for the "eff-you" touchdown a little early lately? Maybe. Is it going to come back and bite the team in the ass? I think so. Am I enjoying seeing all those TDs? Absolutely.
Ok... so my original intention was for this list to be a lot longer. But I'm satisfied. Sox World Series champs.... Mike Lowell MVP and a 23 year old cancer survivor with the win in Game 4? That's what Boston loves- gritty "Dirt Dogs" with heart. A team that doesn't always rely on their big men to win. I'm on cloud 9. Even if Eric Gagne gets a ring, this team is well managed, confident, and lose enough to not need every single blockbuster trade to work out. And keep in mind, all of this happened just a day and a half before the Yankees announced Joe Girardi as their next manager. That guy just looks evil.
Monday, October 15, 2007
If it weren't for sports, we'd have to talk about politics.
That's what a sign in the window of the ESPN zone on 11th and F in downtown DC states proudly. You can't fully appreciate that particular sentiment until you've spent a serious amount of time in "the District". People talk about their small town childhoods and college experiences as "bubbles", where everyone knows everyone else's business, people care a ridiculous amount about unimportant things, and the environment itself affects people's demeanors. At the risk of sounding like I hate the city I'm currently calling home, DC has to be one of the most pretentious bubbles in the world. People move here after college because they either think they're going to be President, that working on the Hill means they are special, or they just didn't quite have the balls to move somewhere more intimidating. DC is a manageable city. Small enough to find your bearings quickly, large enough to provide adequate entertainment. However, be prepared to overhear nerdy and mindnumbing bar conversations; they are likely to include the latest house vote, who blew it in last night's debate, and (if you're LUCKY) a new Dick Cheney joke.
I absolutely love DC. I love the history, the monuments. I love being somewhere where things are happening. I love the layout- small patches of green abound, rather than relying on Central Park for your nature-space. There's a strange mix of pompous and naivety in DC, those who think their Ivy league educations entitle them to everything mingle with those who came here with the dellusion that they might save the world from their K Street office. But honestly I'm getting ahead of myself, because for one, I technically live in Maryland and two, I really wanted to talk about sports.
I absolutely love DC. I love the history, the monuments. I love being somewhere where things are happening. I love the layout- small patches of green abound, rather than relying on Central Park for your nature-space. There's a strange mix of pompous and naivety in DC, those who think their Ivy league educations entitle them to everything mingle with those who came here with the dellusion that they might save the world from their K Street office. But honestly I'm getting ahead of myself, because for one, I technically live in Maryland and two, I really wanted to talk about sports.
Sports fans connect themselves to the lives of players and teams that they love and teams that they create and players they idolize. It is something that allows you to forget about a disastrous war, credit card bills, and the fact that you actually loathe going to work every day. Sports bring people together, create rivalries among friends, and provide entertainment vastly more entertaining than 90% of the movies and tv shows hollywoods is throwing at us. I happen to be in the middle of the most blissful time in recent history for Boston fans and I have pledged to myself not to take it for granted. When I think about how I became a sports fan, it was baseball first. The Braves were always on TV because Ted Turner owns the part of the world that's not owned by Google or Donald Trump. I remember when Andruw Jones got into the league at age 18. And when Greg Maddux was lights out. In 9th grade French class, I sat in the middle of four seriously hardcore Sox fans. I learned absolutely no French that year, but I learned almost everything I know about baseball. It was around that time that the Sox started to be televised regularly and then Manny arrived and soon I had a favorite team, player, and a reason to watch SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight all summer long. Football was always there but it was my Junior year when I raced home from a school trip to Quebec to see Adam Vinatieri's 44-yard field goal with three minutes left after listening to the whole game on the bus radio. Then the Pats won the Superbowl. A lot. Then I went to Maryland, where school spirit is undeinably contagious and I became an insane Terps fan. I have a group of friends who love Maryland just as much as I do. I got to see bowl games and an ACC basketball championship, and all those times we beat Duke. As an alumna, I'm still into it. It's what keeps me and my college friends together. Tradition. I think 40 years from now, if I happen to be walking down the street and see a person wearing a Duke hat, I'll still have to hold back the urge to trash talk them in the street.
As of right now, the morning after the Sox dropped a must-win game 4 to Cleveland, I'm relying on an extremely anxiety-filled games 5-7 to get back to the World Series. The Terps play UVA for Homecoming this Saturday and if we win out, we could play a top 5 BC at the end of the season. The Pats are unbeatable. We'll see. Regardless of whether my teams keep winning, I'll keep watching, following, and talking about sports. Because it's still less depressing to watch the Sox lose than to watch the news.
Glad to see it's cooling off.
I have yet to decide on a solid format for this whole thing, so right now, I'll stick to sharing what happens to be on my mind, what a little of what is going on in my life.
Last Wednesday I had my last kickball game of the season. WAKA is an adult kickball league with divisions all over the country. I joined on a whim, by myself and ended up on a great team with some very fun people. The girls are mostly sorority sisters from the University of Florida, which admittedly had me nervous at first, but most of them turned out to be fun and genuine. The guys are a mix of Ivy grads and locals, who when all was said and done, confirmed everything I ever thought about dating in DC. I'll get to that later. All in all, I'm glad I played because I've made at least two friends I plan on keeping in touch with. They work at a law firm across from my office and they happen to be the first friends outside of work that I've made post-grad. I felt like it was important to widen the circle beyond people I knew in college. At the same time, I'm finding more and more in common with the girls at work and they are turning out to be the highlight of my job. Team picture below, I'm second from the right and YES I'm standing funny.
Last Wednesday I had my last kickball game of the season. WAKA is an adult kickball league with divisions all over the country. I joined on a whim, by myself and ended up on a great team with some very fun people. The girls are mostly sorority sisters from the University of Florida, which admittedly had me nervous at first, but most of them turned out to be fun and genuine. The guys are a mix of Ivy grads and locals, who when all was said and done, confirmed everything I ever thought about dating in DC. I'll get to that later. All in all, I'm glad I played because I've made at least two friends I plan on keeping in touch with. They work at a law firm across from my office and they happen to be the first friends outside of work that I've made post-grad. I felt like it was important to widen the circle beyond people I knew in college. At the same time, I'm finding more and more in common with the girls at work and they are turning out to be the highlight of my job. Team picture below, I'm second from the right and YES I'm standing funny.
The PVB kickball team, after our last game and our first win of the season!
The highlight of this past weekend was seeing about a third of the Bodine clan all at once. Kate and Alison ran the Baltimore Marathon on Saturday, so we caught up over dinner in DC. Attendees were: Aunt Anne, Uncle Mike, Aunt Rita, Uncle Dennis, Tommy, Alison, Me, Kate, Jimmy and Mark (Alison's boy). Poor Mark. It has to be intense to be exposed to that many of us at once. Needless to say, there were several pitchers of margaritas and it was a great time. The kids proceeded to continue on into the night, and I was reminded for the millionth time that I am exceedingly lucky to have such great cousins.
One complaint I do have about weekends now that I'm "an adult"; they aren't for resting anymore. I don't know if I rested on the weekends when I was in college or high school; maybe I just had more time during the week to rest so I didn't mind being busy when Saturday rolled around. This Saturday I spent getting my car inspected, studying for the GRE, and being out with family. Sunday I tried to clean my room (unsuccessfully) and went grocery shopping. Bills were paid, dishes were done, and I should have done laundry, but that will have to wait until next Sunday. I give my mother a lot of credit for keeping our house clean and organized when I was a kid because I can barely keep my apartment from looking like a bomb went off and I don't have kids running around and a job that actually requires a whole heck of a lot of work AND (for five years in there) a dissertation to write. (Sorry it took me so long to really appreciate all those accomplishments Mom).
On deck for this week: a new haircut, more studying, Nicole's birthday, and Homecoming.
One last thing: if it does not get cool enough for me to wear my leather coat before December 1st, I swear I'm adding the weather to the list of reasons I'm leaving DC for graduate school.
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