Going Backwards

Sometimes it feels like I am just going backwards in life. I feel this because I moved back home, I am going back to work at the city, going back to USU, I am going back to my old roommates, etc etc. So all of this going back makes me feel like I am literally going backwards in life. Oh well, maybe I should take a lesson from my future teaching subject of history and see that sometimes you have to take a step back to get moving forward.

In more exciting news I am a new aunt, again, and again! Matt and Debi had little Jane and Rebekah and Sean had little Olive. Two nieces in one week! I love them both so much. I could just hold them and watch them for hours. Our family is so blessed with amazing girls :)

Giving Up

Well I did the thing I didn't think I would do today, I called my old boss Jerry and I am going back to the city for my 6th summer as a flower girl. It was really the last job I wanted to have this summer but so far my job search hasn't been that successful and I need to start earning money asap. I should just be grateful that I have a job to rely on. So I gave in. Oh well, at least I will get a nice tan...

In other news it it Chinese New Year and this year is the year of the Tiger, which is my year. Supposedly that means this year will bring me good luck. Let's hope that is true. I am feeling it as well, 2010 is going to be the year the things happen, I just know it.

Ahhh

Usually I wouldn't be excited about a snow storm, but I was today. The snow has come and finally cleared the air out and now I can go outside and feel the warm sun and see the crystal clear view all around me. I love the weather right after a storm. You can see all the way across the valley. It was a beautiful day today. So thank you snow. While you make driving difficult and things wet, you also do some good.

Some Highlights

In exactly one week I will be on a plane headed home to Utah after spending about four months in the District of Columbia. I've had an interesting time in this city. Here are some highlights.

First day of the internship.

T.C. Williams Football game, the team from Remember the Titans.

Mount Vernon

Getting to spend so much time at the Capitol. This is on our walk to work.

The Shirley Chisolm picture.

Going to Philly and harassing the colonial man into taking a million pictures of us at the Betsy Ross house.

When my Mom and all my sisters came to visit, even though it rained the whole time :)

Saturday morning breakfast at Eastern Market.

This picture in general...

Canoing on the Patomac.

The Cupcake Crawl

D.C. cupcakes in general, especially Georgetown Cupcake, this one is Caramel Apple.

Seeing the Barber of Seville at the Nationals Stadium's "Opera in the Outfield"

Making shadows on the steps of the Supreme Court after work.

Sunsets and free concerts at the Kennedy Center.

It has been an adventure. I have had some really good times and some really, let's say interesting times here. I am really lucky to have the opportunity to live here, but I can't wait to come home! Only one week...

Pre-mature Halloween Excitement

I get excited for Halloween about 5 times a year. Right after Christmas, when summer starts, after the 4th of July, when summer ends, and when it is finally October. I'm not sure why I love this holiday so much, but I get so excited for it. It's probably because I just love the time of year so much. October is my favorite month, and I wait for it all year and now it is only 2 days away! Today the weather was so crisp and nice outside. I love it.

My one problem is that being out here in DC has caused a significant hinderance on my availability on a Halloween costume. I need something to wear, but have nothing. I also need ideas. What should I be? The more suggestions the better. Also something that I can somehow find out here for cheap, or even for free...

Jerry West: The only good thing about the Lakers.

I would just like to announce that I celebrated my one month anniversary of being in DC this week. Time has really flown, and yet I have so much time left here. It's bitter sweet really. This week has actually been pretty good, and I even met my first celebrity, Jerry West. However, had I seen him on the street I never would have known that he was anyone special. Apparently he is in the top 50 NBA Hall of Fame and played for the Lakers back in the day, and at one point even owned the team. So yeah. He was a super nice guy. We even got to talk with him for a while and got to walk with him back to our office. So there you go. You never know who you are going to meet. This week I also went to my first Major Leage Baseball game. The Nationals played the Dodgers, and it was actually a close game, even though the Nationals are ranked as the 2nd worse team this year. Finally, I would like to say that I felt like a true DC local when during my daily commute I said aloud, "Come on people, walk left stand right" when people were blocking the walking side of the escalator. I think I need to get back to Utah soon...

The District

So basically I went the entire summer without writing any blogs, but now that I am quite a long distance away from all those I love I was thinking maybe I should start this up again. Maybe I didn't write because mostly just my family reads this and I was around them all summer, so they already knew what was happening in my life and didn't need this blog to keep up on my always exciting life. Just kidding.
Well here I am in "The District." Now that I have spent a good two weeks here I have quickly learned that if you call Washington D.C. by its full name, or even just simply D.C., you sound like a tourist. It is simply refered to as "The District" for those who are cool enough to reside locally. So far not much has happened while I have been here since Congress has not been in session, and I am still learning about the assortment of activities to participate in. This weekend I have experienced quite the hinderance in my social life since my metro stop and the two adjacent to it have been closed for the entire three day weekend. Yes the entire weekend. Since I am so poor as an insignificant intern, I must rely on the metro to move me around "The District." So here I am on a Saturday night in a new city writing a blog instead of hitting up the town.
I thought I might expound on the metro and all its glory. I have found that every day I have a unique and colorful experience on the metro. Sometimes its just the thrill of barely making it through the doors right before they almost snap one of you limbs off. Sometimes its the embarassment I get when I have gotten on the wrong train and have to quickly escape before I am carted off in the wrong direction. One gem of a moment included a little girl who seriously cried straight for a half an hour while her mother displayed some "quality" parenting skills by talking to her like she was a disobedient teenager. That was a good ride. However the one that tops them all was while waiting for the yellow line at Chinatown with my friend Ashley. We experienced what I have only seen in the movies. Before our yellow trian arrived, an infamous green line train pulled up to the platform only to be rushed by over a dozen police officers with guns drawn. Hmm, I thought to myself. Could I be in a potentially dangerous situation? Is there going to be shoot out or something? When after about 10 minutes of police raiding the train continued on its way passagengers and all like nothing had happened. Just another day in the District.