Violin Nation, President: not me so much

Greetings, travelers. Welcome to the oasis. Parched? Have a tall glass of...I really really really should have practiced more last week! Blerg. Just yesterday I participated in the season opener for the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic. My performance was, well, less than thrilling. The same cannot be said, however, for my colleagues and peers. Cheers to the WMP! We had a solid first concert, accompanied by chorus. And with the added fan base of the chorus, we even had a solid audience, too. In fact, my weekend was bookended by some great music. Listen well, children, and I will tell you the tale...

The other day, my roomie Kristen and I were walking through a neighborhood park close to 925. We saw, on a telephone pole, a flyer for a FREE chamber music concert performed by the IBIS (I still don't know what that stands for) at the Lyon Park Community Center. The flyer assured us that the theme of the evening was "movie music", and you should know that I can never, ever turn down an opportunity to hear movie music. That settled it. We had plans for Friday night. When Friday came around I skipped merrily home from the metro. No, that's a lie. I would never skip home. How embarrassing. I walked home with a bit of spring to my step, delighted that the weekend was nigh and the temperature was high. Nope, lied again. The temperature was not high, it was more like perfection. We'll say 70s. Soooo, I entered my house, sorted the mail, walked up the stairs with my mail in hand, passed through my doorway and immediately plopped down in front of my new computer.

Here's a side note: I got a new computer. Yes, friends. I am the new owner of Laurel's technologically delicious Mac Mini. It sits primly on a ghetto black coffee table in my room, and it works like a dream. I received the highly anticipated computer package the previous day (Thursday) so I was still working on personalizing it and getting all my settings adjusted to my liking. Oh, I'll have you know that I set it up all by myself. I'm no slouch.

That being said, I spent a bit of time playing on the computer before I took off with Kristen to run some errands before the concert. I would just like to say that every time I drive around Arlington and the Pentagon and the Potomac it just renews my excitement for living in DC. We were just running an errand to Pentagon City and there was the Air Force Memorial, piercing the evening sky. That's probably my favorite memorial, by the way. It's so cool. Anyway, I saw that magnificent feat of engineering on my way to Costco. Costco is not a magnificent feat of engineering. It's more like a magnificent setting for organized chaos. It brought back so many memories of shopping with the 'rents at Sam's Club. Good times, good childhood. Okay, so after some errand running, Kristen and I stopped to pick up some dinner at Noodles & Co. (don't tell my P90X coach) before heading to the community center. We didn't think it would be a good idea to eat our smelly pasta dinners in the community center, so we sat at a picnic table in the park right outside and scarfed down our meals in the dark. We walked into the community center, found a seat near the back, and were promptly transported to a dream world of magic. Well, I certainly was.

IBIS is made up of 6 musicians: a string quartet, flutist, and harpist. All the musicians are employed either by the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra or the Boston Esplanade POPS, or something like that. They're all professionals - that's the point. I heard a violin duo piece, string quartet pieces, a flute/harp duo, a harp solo (lovely piece by John Williams from Angela's Ashes), and a quintet arrangement of Mischief Managed from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, also by John Williams. I LOVE JOHN WILLIAMS! Ahem. Anyway, it was great. It was free, it was musically sound, and it was creative. Me likey.

The rest of Friday night and Saturday passed in a blur of sleep, movie watching, computer playing-onning, and birthday partying. Sunday I arose for my first WMP orchestra. No, I wasn't nervous. I was too sleepy to be nervous. Plus, I sit at the back of the second violins. Not too much pressure there. However, I am pleased to announce that we had a good first show. The violins were a wee bit skimpy, seeing as how we were missing two of our first violins (that's what happens with a volunteer community orchestra), but we pulled it off. I heard nothing but good things from the audience members. The Hymn of Praise for chorus and orchestra, written by F. Mendelssohn, was really lovely. It's murder on the violinists to play. We have practically no breaks and consistent brush strokey 8th notes for pages on end. It's very exhausting. But I made it, sleep deprived as I was. And we get a second chance to make it even better when we perform the show again this coming Sunday. The WMP's season is comprised of 5 different programs. Each show is performed twice, once in Alexandria, VA, and once in DC. So this Sunday is the DC Sunday. After that, it's back to rehearsals for our Christmas concert. My favie! :) I mean, just yesterday I was making sure that all my Christmas CD's are in iTunes to make for the best Christmas playlist this town's ever seen.

By the way, it is very difficult to rebuild one's playlist when one's iPod has gone to iPod heaven. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if my iPod was in purgatory with as much trouble as it gave me at the end of its life. I had some great music I'd downloaded from my brother and sister's computer and now it's all gone cause I never had the songs in my own song arsenal. Fool of a Took! Oh well, I'll build it back up again. No worries. That's what the iTunes store is for.

So that's that. I'm enjoying my new computer. Trying to find a Mac compatible webcam + mic so I can Skype my sister like it's my job. Oh, and I did get a call from the Alexandria, KY Police Department. "Oh, sorry about that. You can just disregard that citation. It shouldn't have even been mailed to you. Our systems were down that day so the officer wasn't able to verify the license plate at the time." All one big misunderstanding, folks. Happens to the best of us.

So this week I'm holding down the fort at the office, preparing myself to be a stellar volunteer at the Smithsonian's national board meeting this Thursday and Friday, and trying to finish my book for book club next week. Cheers, y'all!

Three-day Weekend

Yesterday I stayed in my pajamas all day. All day long I was in my pj's. Yesterday was Saturday, today is Sunday, and tomorrow...is Columbus Day. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Columbus for discovering land that eventually became this country. Without his dedication and hard work, I wouldn't have a holiday from work tomorrow. Boy am I glad for good ol' C.C. and his 1492 greatness.

As you might have guessed based on previous posts, I've had a fairly busy summer and fall. I've spent my time getting adjusted to life in DC/Arlington, and I've been fortunate enough to see some friends and family in the short time I've been here. Well, what with all the social activity I've had (cut to me, tooting my own horn) I needed a nice long weekend of doing nothing. What a delight it was yesterday to stay in bed all day, reading a book and watching movies and episodes of Friends. Oh, and occasionally going downstairs to get a chocolate chip cookie from the kitchen. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. I'll start with Friday.

My boss made my day on Friday when she told me I could slip out of the office early to start the weekend. I left at 4, much to my delight. I took the metro to Clarendon and realized I had enough time to stop by the post office before it closed. I'd planned to run this errand on Saturday, but since I was already out I figured I'd get it taken care of. I walked to the post office, crossing my fingers and hoping that the certified mail I was picking up was my stimulus check from the IRS. (The first one they sent me got lost in the mail during my move.) I walk up to the window and wait quite patiently as an employee rummaged through the postage bin. I opened the letter she presented me with, a bit surprised to see the return address, "Alexandria, KY, Police Department." According to the APD, I owe $50 for a parking citation I incurred on August 16th when I parked my green Dodge Dakota in a no-parking zone. Hmmmm. I definitely do not, nor have I ever, driven a green Doge Dakota. For my entire driver's life I've had my trusty little black Nissan Sentra. Also, I was not, nor have I ever been, in Alexandria, KY. Ever. I certainly wasn't there on August 16th. I was in DC. In a polite panic, I left a couple messages on various voicemails begging the administration in the police department to call me about this erroneous parking ticket. Bah! I anticipate that these good government people will have Columbus Day off, as I do, so hopefully Tuesday will be the day of reckoning when I take the Alexandria PD to task for its grave mistake.

The rest of Friday was peaceful. I watered the mums, I went through the mail, ate a giant homemade chocolate chip cookie and watched the series premiere of The Starter Wife. Brilliant! So then Saturday came along. I finished "The Sweet Far Thing" and was terribly disappointed by a cheap ending to an otherwise entertaining literary trilogy. I watched "Caramel" and was surprised at the mixture of Lebanese and French the characters spoke. Don't even ask me what I did with the rest of my day. I have no idea. But it was awesome.

Today I had orchestra rehearsal. We rehearsed with the chorus for the first time ever, and our first concert is a week from today. Yipes! It was a good rehearsal, though. Mendelssohn's Lobesgang (or something like that) is a really nice piece, though dreadfully long. My arms are aching by midway through. We had so much to go through today that we only had about a 7 minute break during our 3 hour rehearsal. Now that works out the arms. I came home from orchestra, and did what I normally do on Sunday nights: I got something to eat, talked to my roommates for a little bit and then put my last load of laundry in the dryer. I came upstairs and started preparing for slumber when I realized that I really don't have to do that. I get to sleep in AGAIN! Mwaaaaaahaahhahahahaha! So here I am at 11:30 on a Sunday night, still awake. Shocking, I know.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day and I intend to take advantage of it. I might play some horrible tennis, maybe I'll go for a walk. There is this great island called Roosevelt Island (I think) on the Potomac River - it's a great place to go for a nature walk and enjoy the fresh air. Remind me to take you there when you visit. Anyway, there are numerous possibilities and I will explore all the options. Weee!

For those of you who don't have a 3-day weekend...sorry for your loss. For the rest of you, I wish you the best in all your endeavors. Hopefully they'll be as fun as mine. HA!

Random Updates, Commence!

Long time, no talkie. Er, readie. I don't know. I've been a busy bee, you might say. Doing what, you might say. I'll tell you, I'm saying.

See these lovely ladies sandwiching me in this picture? Erin (left) and Amanda (right) came to see me last week for a little sight seeing and DC/Arlington exploration during Amanda's fall break. I know these delightful people from my years in Lexington, and it was so much fun to have them in town. They got in on a rainy Wednesday night and left on a sunny, breezy Sunday afternoon. I'll have you know that I only missed one exit on the way to pick them up at BWI, and missed NO exits when I dropped them off on Sunday. Next time, I won't even need my Google map directions. Wabaaam! (By the way, in this picture we're standing in front of the Castle in the Haupt Gardens. I met them for lunch on Thursday and we were so happy we took a picture to commemorate the occasion.)


Unfortunately, I had to work on Thursday and Friday while Erin and Amanda frolicked about town. This week and last week are two of my office's busiest times during the year. With the fiscal year ending and reports and gift entry and blah blah blah, I couldn't take time off. My guests were quite resourceful and took advantage of those hours to visit museums, take a walking tour (DCbyfoot.com - I highly recommend it!), and do other general sight seeing things. When I left work, the fun began (for me) and I joined them for good times and great food. (In this picture, Amanda and I are pleased to be sitting next to one another on the Metro. Note, this is not the same moment as the one in which we entered the Metro car only to find a large pile of vomit on the floor.)

Thursday night Erin, Amanda and I ate homemade burgers and watched TV at the great 925. Saw a little Ugly Betty, a little VP debate. It was an eclectic evening. Spending the night in was nice and relaxing. I recommend it to a friend. Friday after work I met them outside the Castle and we walked to the Sculpture Garden across the Mall to listen to the final evening of Jazz in the Sculpture Garden. Every Friday night during the summer a live jazz band gives the good people of DC a treat for the ears. Many people bring picnic baskets full of goodies and just hang out around the garden, listening to good music. (Wow, say "good" more.) This Friday marked the end of the summer season for Jazz in the Garden, and it was a bit chilly outdoors. My friends and I didn't linger for two reasons: a. we were hungry, and b. the band was playing smooth jazz (not my favie). We ended up spending the evening in Clarendon - dining, meandering, shopping, and just enjoying my awesome neighborhood. Saturday we feasted on "Grandmother's Light Luscious Lovely Pancakes" and prepared ourselves for a day in the sun. We spent the afternoon exploring the Georgetown neighborhood. M Street is loooooong. From Georgetown we Metroed it to the U-Street neighborhood. We visited Cake Love (most delicious cupcakes ever, by the way), and ended up at this great restaurant called Islander Caribbean. This eatery holds a special place in my heart now because they serve mainly Trinidadian cuisine. I'd been wanting to try this place and Amanda and Erin were more than willing to be guinea pigs with me. We weren't disappointed. I mean, I had chicken roti and even a large glass of sorrell! Unfortunately, they were out of mauby, but the sorrell was pretty good. Ah, the motherland - Trinidad, how I love thee.


My visitors left me two days ago, and now I'm left to my own devices. Yipes. Well, technically I'm not on my own. I do live in a house with 4 other young women. Kristen (on my left), Bridget (right), Stacie and Bekah (not pictured) all keep it real with me at the 925. Work is keeping me busy, as I mentioned previously, and I like it. I work on gift entry and monthly reports and listen to my CDs (I have yet to replace my iPod) and pass the time quite productively.

Some of you might be wondering what I do in my free time. Well, you might not be wondering, but I don't really care. I'm telling you anyway, foo. You know how you don't necessarily have things scheduled when you're not working, but your time just gets gobbled up by random things for which you don't plan? Well, that's my story, too. I am in a book club and a community orchestra, so those things feature prominently in my planner. Other than that, though, I hang out. I read, cook dinner with Kristen (my fellow P90X-er), watch Dancing With The Stars, wander around Clarendon, etc. On weekends Kristen, Bridget and I will sometimes venture in to DC and tap into the night life. On Sundays I've been visiting The Falls Church and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. No, I don't practice during the week, though I'm hoping to change that soon. There is still a lot of DC that I want to explore and random tasks I must complete (like getting my VA license). There are always things to do, and I like that.



For the foreseeable future, 925 will no longer be featured as a bed n' breakfast for my friends/family. I'll miss the activity. Katie (left) and Alexandra (right) started things off with a bang in July. Together we saw the monuments (thanks to DC by Foot), the Capital (you can't miss it - it's right behind Katie and Alexandra), the Library of Congress (partially seen in the last picture), and plenty of museums (I highly recommend the Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of Art). DC is awesome!






Of course, now it's getting cooler and the drearier seasons are teasing us before blasting us full force with their chilly demeanors and harsh personalities. What? Anyway, I'll pack away the air mattress and stow away the extra metro cards I've accumulated until spring arrives and the weather is ripe for travel. If, dear reader, you do get the hankering to brave the elements and fly up for a weekend that air mattress is just a closet door away.

Now I'm looking forward to sweaters and hot chocolate and citrus tea and watching movies by the fake fire (that uses light to give the illusion of flame and puts out electric heat) and holidays and orchestra concerts. Plus, the countdown to seeing my family again has begun. Christmas 2008, woop woop! The end of the year will bring new responsibilities and challenges at work, no doubt. Plus, on the horizon I see a Coldplay Halloween concert, a trip to New Jersey to see the Williams for Thanksgiving, the Nutcracker, and a few Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic concerts. I think I've blogged on all the iconic events of the summer, so from here on out my posts will be all about the great leftovers I brought for lunch yesterday. Get ready :).