black pants prance

I hate black pants.

I hardly ever wear them. I think the last time I wore black pants was at least 2 years ago. I own 2 pairs that I never wear. For Christmas, Dad took me and brother shopping. He bought me some new work pants and insisted that I needed black pants. Fine. The other 2 I own don't fit me anymore anyway, so I should probably get a new pair. And then I started thinking maybe, I'll even wear them because really, I shouldn't hate black pants. Maybe it's all in my head.

So today, I wore my new black pants to work.

I hate black pants.

When I put them on this morning I thought to myself, ugh these black pants make me feel like I'm working. Which, obviously, they are for work. But feeling like work adds dread to the day. Then, I'm sitting at my desk and notice there is a smudge of dust or something on my pant leg. Black pants get dirty SO FAST. There is fuzz and dust, everything just sticks to them. Then I look homeless and filthy because my black pants attract everything!

The only upside is that they're really comfortable. And I will probably wear them again since they were a present, but I'll still hate them.

this is my house

Everyone knows that Hufflepuff is the worst house at Hogwarts. Fact. It just is. Are there any characters that you can name from that house? Any at all? Go ahead and try.

Yah, I didn't think so. But there is one. And she was in the first movie for all of a few seconds, which is when she was sorted into Hufflepuff. (If you can name that ONE without looking it up or watching the scene, I'll send you something fantastic)

One of my favorite bloggers (@TheBloggess) posted about how she's going to Hogwarts this weekend, a birthday present for her daughter. She stated that of course her family had been sorted into houses and she was sorted into Hufflepuff. Damn right! Finally I'm in good company!

the metro that never stopped

I tried to share this amazing story with Brendan and my brother, but I'm not sure that either were all too entertained. I however, was, and so was Brie. Exactly.

Scene. Packed metro car on a Friday evening with numerous people impatiently waiting to get their way home.

"Something is wrong with the train. As soon as we adjust it we'll be on our way."

Okay, interesting. Hoping for a non-eventful ride home, we move along shortly after this announcement. Nothing at Foggy Bottom, then we're in Rosslyn.

"This train is not stopping at Clarendon. There is a train 3 minutes behind this one that will stop. This train is not stopping at Clarendon."

Nice. That means one less stop for me before I head home. Next stop, Courthouse.

"The doors aren't working right. You should see a red light above the door. If you don't can you just, shove the door?"

Umm, probably not the best idea. But the guy next to me decides that it IS a good idea, so he starts shoving the door. The red light wasn't on, and didn't turn on, however, the train started moving. Safe? Probably not, but the door appeared shut and we were moving. We're rolling through Clarendon, horn blasting every few feet.

"This train is not stopping, not stopping. This train is not stopping in Clarendon, not stopping. This train is not stopping"

Continuously! As we roll through the station. At this point I'm dying and I can't find anyone else near me half as entertained. I feel like I'm in a Speed movie, I want Keanu Reeves to be on the train with me so I can scream out "OH MY GOD! This train is NOT STOPPING!!"

I restrained myself from yelling, which I mostly regret now. I can only imagine what the rest of the ride was like, I only had to survive 4 stops. I wonder how many people would've laughed, or screamed with me, maybe in real terror, or how many wouldn't have noticed anything at all.

End Scene.

let's go to KOKOMO

A phone call came in at work and the user id said, KOKOMO. And I'm thinking, let's go to KOKOMO! Thinking about the beach boys song and how lovely that sounds, only to discover that KOKOMO doesn't actually exist as a beach and is really a town in Indiana.

Yes I went to maps.google.com and typed "Kokomo" and Indiana is what I got. I zoomed out a bunch to see where it was located in relation to me in DC and it's essentially slapped in the middle of Indiana.

Now really, Indiana. No one wants to go to Indiana. And if you do, there has to be some significantly amazing reason to do so. Which doesn't exist, so really... no. No one wants to go.

Despite this I was interested in seeing if maybe we could actually want to go to KOKOMO. So I googled it and found the city website. Ginger asked me to see if there was anything interesting there that might convince us to plan an imaginary trip to Kokomo. I found a link for historical sites, landmarks, and museums, and briefly read through the list of what this city had to offer; a covered bridge, a museum, a stump, chief kokomo, and old ben - an incredibly massive cow, who is no longer alive. I was intrigued by the "Chief Kokomo" so decided to read more about this guy.

Cheif Kokomo is who the town is named after, clearly. He is surrounded in legend and myth and a lot of what they state on the website seems well, legend. It's not well documented, as the historian in me would prefer, so I took it as local lore that the lovely people hold dear to their hearts. It's an interesting tale that adds something to this city that is not really a beach or anything like the beach boys sing about. I'm all about local lore and legend, so this little story redeemed KOKOMO a bit in my heart.

A little from the website "One vicious story about Chief Kokomo is that he was nothing but a "coon-hunting, root digging old redskin" who was shiftless, atrociouisly lazy, and given to beating up his squaw every time he over-indulged in strong drink, which was often." Apparently the town at the time reflected the "ornery" characteristics of Kokomo, and hence a city is born.

ALSO I found they had a link for visitors that says "Kokomo Beach" and I was like oh ok! Maybe they DO have a beach after all! And it's not all a lie.. no. It's still a lie. Welcome to Kokomo Beach Family Aquatic Center. It's a pool. I mean, it does have some water slides and they look fun but, still not a beach.

No offense to the city and all I'm sure it has become, but it was disappointing to find out that when I dream of going to Kokomo, it's not nearly as amazing as I thought it would be.

revenge of the crohns

After two relatively flare free years, I finally had to cave in and make a doctors appointment last week. I had a mini flare in December (around the same time as finals, thank you very little stress), but was able to clear it up on my own. I was delaying, hoping that it would pass on its own, but it only got worse. I'll spare any of the details, just know that crohn's is incredibly painful and miserable. Life for the past 3-4 weeks has been depressing, frustrating and lonely, but it's hard to do otherwise when your body is painfully demanding. I've literally been a lump in my bed, very lame.

Since it had been a long time I expected that my doctor would want to schedule some tests, colonoscopy, endoscopy, blood, etc. The endoscopy and blood tests would be cake, it's the other one I dread. Not that the procedure itself is bad, you're entirely knocked out the entire time. Just the day before the test you're on a clear liquid diet and then that night after starving all day you have to take/drink the most disgusting liquids ever, which of course result in numerous trips to the bathroom. It's incredibly difficult not to throw up the soapy liquid, which you're expected to drink an ENTIRE gallon of before midnight. The whole day before is torture. And this is me leaving out the worst bits.

Anyway, I was incredibly surprised when after a basic examination my doctor decided to only prescribe Prednisone for the next month, oh steroid how I love thee, and no tests! He also wrote me a new prescription to replace the monthly medication I've been on the last 2.5 years. Pentasa has been costing me anywhere from $400-600/month, and supposedly this new medication (I'll pick it up within the next 2 weeks) will cost less. It's a generic brand that is a bit of a higher dose so I'll only have to take 3 pills 3 times a day (total of 3!), instead of 2 pills 3 times a day (total of 6). Less pills? Yes please! I do however have to go back for a follow up appointment in October, so there's a chance that he'll want to run some tests then. Hopefully not, but I know that I probably should.. despite how much I really don't want to.

I've been taking the Prednisone and the Pentasa for about 4 days and I feel SO much better! Also, the one positive thing throughout this latest flare, I managed NOT to lose any weight! I'm holding strong at 116lbs!! (That's almost 25lbs I've managed to gain since May 2009 :D) I'll taper the Prednisone and will finish that on Sept 2nd. Which is perfect timing. I hope that by then, if not before, everything will be back to working order. There are big things coming in September that I need to be in good health for :)

this ring are master of them all

My dad had been thinking about different graduation presents to get me once I'd acquired my Masters in History. When he got his masters from MIT my grandfather bought him a really fancy watch. He didn't think that I would care very much for a watch so instead he gave me an option.

Would I like a necklace, or a ring?

This was an easy decision. A necklace you can only wear sometimes, depending on the occasion, event, clothes, etc. A ring you can wear all the time! This was the best choice.

Over the Christmas holiday we had gone to various jewelers to see the various options and find something that I would like. I decided on a sapphire stone, but that's about as far as we got. For the past few months dad has been trying to find a ring, while also starting new job and moving into a new house. But finally at the end of July he called me to ask for my ring size! He'd randomly decided to go into a jeweler with my uncle while they were out in Morristown running errands and managed to find the perfect graduation ring! He had to get it sized, but promised to send it to me soon. And then on Wednesday I received notification from FedEx that they tried to deliver but no one was home to sign for it, so they left with my ring! Sooo sad. Luckily, Jonna came home Wednesday from her trip to upstate NY and was home Thursday to sign for the package!

As soon as I got home from work I ran into the house to find the box. I used my keys to open it, finding scissors would've taken too long, and found a little silver bag, and INSIDE that bag was a little white box, and inside THAT box was a little brown box, and inside the box was my RING! Hooray graduation ring is here!! I tried it on and it fit perfectly. It's a simple setting, the middle stone is an oval sapphire with two small diamonds set on either side. I love my present and have worn it everyday since it arrived :) Thank you Dadds for the best present, it's perfect!!

emilia moves in!

After patiently waiting a few weeks, Emilia flew in from Houston with her boyfriend Chris to officially move into Chez Quebec!

She flew in around noon on Tuesday the 19th, so unfortunately Jonna and I weren't at home to welcome her to the house. Despite our being at lame work, she was able to get into the house without any issue. She had a few boxes and suitcases, but not much else. She expects to get a lot of furniture and things over the next few weeks. We had a blow up mattress for her to borrow for a few nights as she works on getting settled. She doesn't start work until the last week of July, so she has some time to explore the area before getting down to it!

I'm very excited to have the house officially full. It was a long process to find another roommate, which was unexpected. But we definitely made the right choice :) Look forward to future posts of our house of awesome people!

this is how we celebrate

Since Jonna was out of town for her birthday, she decided to arrange a little gathering of people later in the week. She wanted to try out a new restaurant on Washington Blvd, Mala Tang, and afterward go out bowling at Ft. Myer. She invited a large group of people and only expected less than half to be able to come to dinner, however 17 people were able to join in the celebration!

We all met at Mala Tang and had no idea what we were getting into. The concept behind the restaurant is really neat and probably better for smaller groups (as we learned). We only had one waitress for the entire table, it made for a very slow meal. The main course at Mala Tang is a sichuan hot pot. Each person has their own little pot to cook various meats, fish, veggies, and starches. Sarah and I decided to share a pot, and we found that it was a really good idea. There was sooo much food there was no way either of us would've finished one on our one. We didn't even come close to finishing the one we shared! Everyone shared veggies, meats, and more, there was food everywhere. When we finished they brought out a little fruit platter with a candle for Jonna and we all sang happy birthday!

By the time everyone was full and ready to go, it took almost an entire hour for the waitress to get our checks in order. Although we were incredibly appreciative that they split the checks between people/couples, they double charged gratuity on multiple bills. Those few bills she had to bring back and fix. By the time we were finally finished eating AND paying, it was almost 11pm. Dinner had lasted 4 hours! It was a lot of fun and delicious, it just took a long time. The bowling ally closes at midnight, so bowling was no longer an option for the night. Instead we went to a bar for a few drinks to finish the night. We had so much food, drinks, and fun. It was a true birthday celebration of me Jonna!

jonna has bday

Jonna had to go to Ithaca for a wedding the weekend of her birthday. This left me home alone and unable to celebrate her birthday with her appropriately so I decided that I wanted to bake her something for when she came home. She was returning on her birthday so what better than to bake a cake!



This is what I think of every time someone says something about baking a cake, it's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake?! And now that we're all distracted.. let's bake a cake!

For my birthday Amy gave me a cookbook filled with many of her own baking recipes. I decided what better time to try something new? I decided to make a rhubarb upside-down cake. The recipe was pretty easy to follow and I only had to call Amy once to verify the first step of the recipe. I made a pretty design of rhubarb into massive amounts of brown sugar and butter, covered it in a very light cake batter (like angel food cake) and popped it into the oven. I waited 40 mins.. 50 mins.. 60 mins, and the cake was supposed to be done after 50-55 mins, but the knife still wasn't coming out clean. Around 65-70 mins I called Amy again because I was concerned for my poor cake. I figured it had to be done cooking by now and pulled it out of the oven and flipped it! over onto a plate - check out that delicious picture. I couldn't tell if it was completely done cooking, but it was too late to go back now! I'd already flipped it upside-down. She said it sounded perfectly fine, so I stopped fretting and left it out for when Jonna came home. (Turns out our oven is broken so I was right to be concerned about the long time it took to bake, the bottom heating element isn't working. So we can essentially broil everything, it's the new bake).

Jonna came home after a really long drive and was ready for bed. I managed to get her to try the cake before she popped into bed, and it was a great success! It was so moist, sweet, and delicious. I packed a piece for me and Jonna to bring to work the next day, it was her birthday cake that we enjoyed all week long :P

game of thrones

I spent most of the weekend being lazy and had heard a lot of good things about Game of Thrones, a show on HBO. I heard it was a storyline that would appeal to me because it had a gamer type feel and it's situated comparatively to what we know to be the dark ages. Any period piece tends to grab my attention and I decided to give this show a try.

Well, as HBO does best, I was incredibly hooked. I think what I love best about this show is that no one is safe. And what I mean is, any character at any time can die (just like real life, *gasp*). Typically with shows and movies you're pretty sure that the main characters (at least most of them) will make it through whatever trials and tribulations they are given. So although some situations are more stressful than others, you feel somewhat relived knowing that nothing could really possibly happen to them. This is not the case in Game of Thrones. This style that George RR. Martin takes in his books adds significantly to the series. I felt the reality of living and fighting to survive and felt with the characters when they realized how much they had lost, when they failed, suffered, and the amazement when they some how managed to endure. Despite becoming attached to certain characters and losing them throughout the first season, I wouldn't change this approach. I felt more involved and more aware of how difficult life once was for our ancestors, sometimes I'm such a historian nerd :)

I won't give away any specifics, but I do recommend this show to others who enjoy sci-fi/fantasy/medieval themes. I definitely look forward to the next season!