In case you missed it, here are the other two parts: Part 1 | Part 2
Sunday, Jan. 9: I'll spare you all the details, but I woke up on Sunday not feeling good at all. The thought of walking the Mall and going out to eat, etc., was too much for me. Plus, I have tons of pictures of all the D.C. monuments from my last trip when I went with my family in 1997. Instead, Michelle and I watched a bunch of movies and some tv, ordered in and made a good little day of it. I was back to feeling like myself by the end of the day.
Monday, Jan. 10: I'Luckily, my flight didn't leave until 4 p.m. and I was able to print my boarding pass online. That left just enough time to hit one more museum, grab lunch and then send me on my way to the Reagan airport via metro. I'd never been to the Portrait Gallery before, so that was our final stop of my trip!
I'm not a huge art fan, but I heard good things about this gallery. My favorite part was how each portrait had a plaque adjacent to the image, stating who the person of interest was and a brief biographical paragraph explaining the subject. Some of my favorites were the Presidential Hall, the 20th Century Americans and naturally, the sports wing. I'm a big modern history nut, and snapped a few pictures secretly with my phone :) The following is some of what I saw:
Signed Lance Armstrong portrait
The 60s rock concert poster art was seriously one of my favorites!
Reggie Jackson in an OAKLAND A'S jersey (can you tell who my favorite team is?)
Combined Hepburn sister Oscars
The beginning of the sports exhibit & museum's architecture
Remember how I fell in love with the Elvis displays at the Newseum the day before?! Well there was an entire hall of portraits dedicated to Elvis and the photographers who followed him around the year of his 21st birthday. He is a very attractive and interesting figure in Americana. I still want to learn more about Elvis and plan to someday pick up his biography!
Eventually we had to part ways, but I made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. However, there were massive snow storms in Georgia and in the northeastern US states that day. As a result, Delta's hub in Atlanta was shut down for several hours and flights all over the country were affected by that. Luckily, my flight to NYC was only delayed about 45 minutes. However, once the plane was on the runway, we actually sat there for close to 30 minutes. I was nervous I'd miss my connection in NYC.
But when I did land in New York, I found out that flight was also delayed over an hour, leaving me plenty of time to explore and find some dinner. After eating out all weekend, I was not in the mood for any fast food. Instead, I found a cute little French bistro called Croque Madame and ordered up some chicken pesto with a salad and water bottle.
I ordered at the to go cart and decided I had enough time to sit down in the dining area. It was then I realized just how big the "restaurant" actually was. And the BEST part?! Instead of menus and waiters, you order from an iPad and it sends a message directly to the kitchen!!!
No joke, this was the most high-tech dining experience I've ever had! The food was amazing and I nestled myself into an individual, one-person dining pod, complete with European/US compatible outlets and of course, the iPad. It did cross my mind to play with the iPad, since each one came stocked with hundreds of apps, but my hygiene-obsessed mind got the best of me. Who knows how many people touch those each day, all of whom end up eating, touching money, food, their faces and possibly mouths. Not the most pleasant realization to have mid-dinner. Instead, I just enjoyed the idea from afar. I'm also not kidding when I say this restaurant literally has hundreds of tables, so imagine how much it must have cost to order that many iPads.
It was a really cool end to a frustrating day of travel! I finally made it home, in bed, sometime after 1 a.m.
In case you missed it, here's the recap from my first two days in D.C.: Part 1
Saturday, Jan. 8: When we came back from the bar on Friday night, Michelle told me it was starting to snow! The forecast predicted snow for about half of my trip and I was ecstatic to wake up to a very small dusting of snow and frost on Saturday morning. However, it didn't last long. In fact, it melted as soon as the sun came out pretty early in the day.
Michelle and I decided to go explore some more museums on Saturday, because we had big group plans for Sarah's birthday night. First up, in what turned out to be my only trip to the Mall the entire weekend, we headed out to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. I had memories of going there with my dad when I was 13, stopping at ever single exhibit, reading every single piece of information and watching movie after movie on aviation history and war aircrafts. Blahhhhh.
We had other plans! Michelle found out that the "guy who killed Pluto" (the planet of my youth, honest what good is the mnemonic "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pies" mean without Pluto?!?!), was going to be talking at the Air & Space Museum that afternoon. Being the astronomy geek that I am, I didn't need to be told twice. Except, to our dismay, he was just signing books for two hours. How lame! And I was not about to spend what little money I had funding the guy who killed the dwarf planet!! We went exploring instead and pretty much stayed in the space portion of the museum.
You can't just cover up my childhood with a big black square!!
Next we were off the Newseum since Michelle picked up two for one admission on Groupon. I'd never been and if you know me, you know that I'm a big news/journalism geek. So onward. (Noticing a theme here?)
The museum was unlike anything I have ever seen. It was super poignant and emotional. We were actually starting at the top, sixth floor, looking at an overwhelming exhibit on Hurricane Katrina in the news and its aftermath, when I received a text about the shooting rampage in my own state... The irony was the exhibit was about how instantly we can access news now with the Internet and cell phones. I definitely teared up right there on the spot.
The entire museum was a mix of fascinating, terrifying, emotional and basically mind-blowing exhibits to me. I loved every second of it and would definitely go back again, or recommend anyone to go see it who hasn't yet!!!
Exhibit honoring Elvis' 75th birthday
Largest intact section of the Berlin Wall
Sports journalism exhibit
The media antenna from the collapsed World Trade Center and a three-story wall of front pages from newspapers around the world
After the surreal and somber experience of the Newseum, we headed back home after it closed -- spending close to three hours there. We got ready for Michelle's roommate's sister's birthday (Sarah, as I've mentioned before) and headed off toward an awesome restaurant in Georgetown called Thunder Burger & Bar. Touted as an edgy, rock & roll restaurant, I literally got the vibe that I was dining in Wonderland. Maybe this'll help shape your opinions on the matter...
I tried to get a good shot of the menu, but again, it was dark and edgy. The grass on the walls really made me feel like I was in a completely different world. I even joked to someone that when my beer came out, I half expected it to have a tag that said "Drink Me."
To boot, I was insanely excited about every song they played on the speakers. Bush, Killers, 30 Seconds to Mars, and more pretty good tracks I generally listen to every day. When it came time to decide, I made an absolute game-time decision and decided to go for the "Rock the Casbah" burger (House Made Falafel Burger, Topped With Diced Onions, Tomatoes & Herbed Cucumber Yogurt Sauce) over the "Learning to Fly Burger" (Herbed Ground Turkey Burger, Topped With Swiss Cheese, Avocado, & Granny Smith Apples). Neither it, not the seasoned fries, nor the winter citrus beer, disappointed.
I was pleasantly full and enjoying good conversation meeting new people as we went on to our next stop: Mr. Smith's of Georgetown. Another first for me -- I'd never been to a piano bar before! While crazy busy, Mr. Smith's had the beer of the month club for $3. Basically everyone in there was clutching $3 (decent) bottles of beer and singing raucously to the banging of the keys and the Irish-sounding singer. Unhappy with being squeezed into a small area in the back, I took initiative and scribbled down on a Post-It note that we were here with a birthday girl! And thus, the entire bar burst into the Birthday Song to Sarah. It was pretty entertaining. Later, I got him to play one of my fav songs, "Your Love" by the Outfield.
It was a really, really amazing experience (the crappy iPhone video does it zero justice). I'd totally go to a piano bar again, provided I was with a large group of people! And that's saying a lot, seeing as how again I did not have a single drop to drink at the bar. Ok, that's a lie, I tried a sip of the $3. That's how I made my informed opinion that it was decent beer ;) We eventually closed out the night in the back dining area, listening to a group of guys tell joke after joke after joke.
I am totally jealous of all the amazing things to do in D.C.!!! Stay tuned for the final recap in my next post.
Welcome to my second new thing of 2011! I promise I'll stop saying what number I'm on when I get further into this project :) So on to our second week of the new year. I went to school in Southern California (UC Santa Barbara). Most of my fellow alumni moved either into the LA region or out of state. I've visited a few of my Los Angeles friends on trips that coincided with work trips. If you didn't know, working in sports, I've basically had to work on the road and travel every two weeks since I graduated from college. It left me with plenty of opportunities to see old friends!
However, one of my old roommates, Michelle, moved to D.C. after college. We've been in frequent contact and I've said I wanted to go out there several times! In 2011, it finally happened. I visited my first friend from college on a non work-related trip! So here's a quick recap at my first time back in Washington D.C. in over 14 years (this will come in installments of three, I have waaaay too many pictures!):
Thursday, Jan. 6: After having to wake up at 4 a.m. in Arizona in order to make it to the Phoenix airport before my flight, Thursday wasn't too eventful. I hope you don't blame me for a lack of excitement that day, seeing as how I was way tired and passed out not long after dinner.
Friday, Jan. 7: Michelle worked in the morning and I went with her roommate on a chilllllllly 3.1 mile run past the zoo, etc. After warming up and showering, we grabbed some lunch and kicked off the sightseeing trip! First up, the Smithsonian National History Museum. I saw a lot of amazing things, beginning with the closest to my heart, Julia Child's kitchen!!!!
I also got my cheeseball moment in on the top floor, by Colbert's portrait :) I mean, neutral, ambiguously-aggressive face:
On that floor we also saw American Pop Culture pieces, like Dorothy's ruby red slippers and a Muppets exhibit!! It brought me back to my youth and made me smile :)
Along the way were some other really interesting exhibits on the nation's First Women, including pictures commemorating the Kennedy inauguration, first ladies' dresses and of course, Michelle Obama's stunning dress encased in glass. I wish I were that fabulous ;)
Afterward, we made our way back and got to check out some famous monuments in the sunset and twilight hours:
Since I'm not too ashamed to admit I'm such a giant nerd, we quickly ended our romp around the museum in order to make it to the night's events: wine tasting put on by the French Alliance and dinner for Michelle's roommate's sister's birthday weekend (did you follow?).
The wine tasting, while French, was fairly marginal. Since it was free, I assume they picked cheap wines. Hey, I'm not one to complain about anything free or French ;)
Former roommates at the wine tasting room!
For Sarah's birthday weekend dinner, we basically ran across the street and washed up wine tasting with margarita pitchers... classy ;) I don't want to sound like a brat, but being a California/Arizona girl, I'm mighty spoiled when it comes to Mexican food and margaritas. But these hit the spot and led to a wonderful time.
Half of our dining party of eight :)
Blurry... like my night. Ok, you caught me. I only had one. And I didn't even drink at the bar after!
In all, I had a wonderful trip (for a moment I forgot I was unemployed... ok maybe during the wine tasting and margarita madness, ha)! Michelle has a lot of really awesome friends and I opened up quickly, never once having a shy or awkward moment (another "new first" for Monique, ha!). I got to sample a lot of local D.C. culture (as in the bars and dining establishments enjoyed by other 20-somethings) and for real got my nerd on in all the museums. I loveeee American history/culture. I can't wait to share more with you tomorrow. I also can't believe I'm back in Arizona already... where it is close to 70° ;)
It's been one of those days. I would say one that makes me look forward to the weekend, but I don't have a job right now so every day is like the weekend for me! I have all the free time in the world, but can't run because of a bum knee. How perfect.
Anyways, I woke up to an e-mail that absolutely blew my mind. A few months back I applied for what I thought was the PERFECT JOB for me. I worked at the Visitor Center as an undergrad at UC Santa Barbara as a tour guide and vice president of the association. I got to work closely with admissions counselors and many of my co-workers are still there.
Imagine my surprise when several positions opened up for admissions counselors!!! I knew the people hiring, I worked with them and I have experience working with prospective students at UC Santa Barbara! Fingers crossed, I waited. And waited, and waited until the July 17th closing date. After the 17th came and went, I assumed I wasn't being considered for an interview and chalked it up to yet another unsuccessful application. But this morning, I found an e-mail telling me I had been selected to move on and I had an interview to schedule IN Santa Barbara ON Tuesday. WHAT?!?!?!?! The WEEK I move is the week I move on to the next step?!?! With a heavy heart I e-mailed back my former co-worker and person responsible for hiring and told her they contacted me about a month too late, and that I had already moved out of the state.
Total bummer. It put a damper on my entire day. That was my ideal job -- within realistic reach that is -- and I passed on it. The next job that comes my way better make me feel at peace with that decision! Next on my plate, another e-mail saying I couldn't renew my contact order online because my prescription had expired!!! Seriously?!?! I don't have vision coverage so I have to pay out of pocket for an eye exam and get to pay a lot more for new contacts/glasses. Luckily I did a bit of reading online and found that the Costco here has an eye doctor. They're lower priced anyways, so they don't take insurance. But it's still a pretty high cost necessity for someone without a job. Maybe I'll go ahead and get Lasik soon......
All that before breakfast. So I felt like something low-maintenance and easy. Cereal is basically comfort food for me, so I indulged in some Quaker oat squares, Craisins and mango that I sucked at cutting.
And then I noticed creepy bug bites all over my right leg. Apparently something devoured me over night! For a second I freaked out because last night I FOUND AND KILLED A SCORPION INSIDE MY HOUSE. And shrieked and flipped for about 10 minutes. J.D. let me handle it alone and I still am creeped out by it. But, I guess killing it doesn't cause it to secrete out poisonous liquid and leave spider-like bites on your body several hours later. Or, so I'm hoping.
I believe I captured a baby one of these in my living room:
*Shudders* Ugh. Anyways, I made myself keep busy in order to ignore the itching sensation of the bug bites. So I watered all the plants in the backyard. I did something as menial as cutting stray strings off my hand towels (hello OCD), filled in nail holes left by the previous tenants, painted the scuff marks previous tenants had left on our white walls and did a few loads of laundry. So far it's working out alright. I haven't felt the need to scratch.
Woodstock and I watched tv for a bit and then I had a strong desire to research some design elements to decorate our kitchen/living room area. I really want to go this route, wine and French vintage posters. We'll see what J.D. thinks about it :) I guess we should hit up Home Goods and Bed, Bath and Beyond first to see what's out there.
I loooove vintage French and travel posters. I decorated my dorm/room in college with these mini postcards. I think we need to stick with reds and yellows to match the tablecloth and kitchen accessories we already have.
Then lunchtime rolled around and I scrounged up some items from the fridge to make a mega veggie sandwich. I loaded veggies on a toasted whole wheat English muffin with spinach artichoke hummus spread in between the slices. It was awesome! I've never had carrots, olives and celery inside a sandwich before, but if they all go well with hummus, why not?!
And on the side I tapped into my inner child with a twist on apples and peanut butter. I sliced up my apple and swirled together dark chocolate almond spread and almond butter. YUMMY :) And washed it all down with a large glass of homemade chocolate skim milk. I mean, if I'm eating like a kid anyways....
Apparently my sweet tooth was still raging, so I downed a few of these:
After lunch, I got a call from our property manager that something else was wrong. We apparently live in such a stuck-up area that we aren't allowed to park on the street!!! I was also told, upon signing the lease, that if any oil spills/leaks are found in the garage/driveway, we will be charge for it upon move-out. My car is notorious for dripping oil and fluids so I thought I was on the safe side by parking it on the street with the garage still full of items to move. Guess not. TGIF I guess.
It didn't end there, surprise. My knee and ankle began to bother me, so I did some stretches and exercises with my resistance band for a while.
How do you like my rockin' kinesiotape?!? (hah, get it, Rock Tape??) And check out the toys around the floor. Someone doesn't know how to pick up after himself! Another struggle I've been dealing with today is trying to keep the puppy off our brand new couches! Eventually, I gave in for a little bit, so he wouldn't hurt himself jumping down. It's a good thing I let him, otherwise I never would have seen this little episode.
Enjoy the weekend, everyone! Hope Friday the 13th treated you better than it did me :) At least we're going to see Dinner for Schmucks tomorrow! Can't wait. I should have seen the original French version first, but in my extensive experience watching French films, I know they can be a bit weird. We'll see if that gets lost in translation or not...
I'm pretty excited for a number of reasons today. First, I'm back on the blog world. But I told you it'd be sparse, so I'll be back and forth until we're living in a house in Arizona. Haven't signed a rental agreement yet, however...
My second reason for excitement is the announcement of my Open Sky Shop! Open Sky is such a cool concept. If you're unfamiliar with the service it provides, check out its About Page. Basically I'm going to provide you with links to items I talk about and love, so you can find and buy them on my site directly! This is also going to include give-aways... with one coming up pretty soon :) I was sent a runner's tank top to try out, but it unfortunately doesn't fit me, I think my chest is too big for their sizing :( Nevertheless, it's still a neat product, so stay tuned for that one. Though, I don't think I'll be kicking that off until I move.
Tentatively, my shop is set to open August 10, so keep checking back for the grand unveiling! And also, go learn about Open Sky and all the neat people already using it (like NLF Linebacker Shaun Phillips)!!
Ok exciting item No. 3, my last day of work is FRIDAY. I don't know if this is exciting or not. I'm excited for a change in scenery and the chance to try something new. I'm not excited about being unemployed. I've been scouring the Internet for sports jobs down in Phoenix and have literally sent my resume to over 40 companies. But then again, if it doesn't work out, I'm still seriously considering getting my master's in French Comparative Literature and being a TA for undergrad French classes.
Because our big move is so quickly approaching, J.D. and I made the 12-hour trek down to Arizona last weekend in search of housing.
We saw some neat things:
Closets big enough for cartwheels... Are you shocked that J.D. has more clothes than I do and claimed the walk-in closet for himself?!
Some weird things:
Apartment washer/dryer tucked away in a garage crevice.
Backyard putting green!
Received free baseball tickets:
DARN YOU DIAMONDBACKS FOR TRADING MY FAVORITE PLAYER THE DAY AFTER WE LEFT!!! Now I won't get to see Danny Haren play in Arizona when I move there :(
We ate breakfast at a restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-ins & Dives (video about Over Easy's feature on the show):
Caramel iced coffee with a splash of lowfat milk... one of the few times I haven't drank nonfat milk.
J.D.'s Reese's Pieces pancakes! Oh man those were good... I may have snuck several bites :)
My egg white, spinach, asparagus and ham custom omelet!
Overall we have a good idea of where we want to live. We picked out five houses, two almost perfect for us. The top two, however, have already been applied for. So on to the next in line, I suppose. We hope to hear back by the end of the week!!!!
Wish us luck :) We'll need it with all the packing to be done this week...
I'm also trying to get creative with meals. We can't really buy anything new, since we're trying to clean out the fridge/freezer. So last night I opened up some frozen eggplant cutlets, plopped them atop whole wheat spaghetti and made my own marinara sauce with frozen veggies and ripped up some mozzarella balls. It was kind of tasty for being a weird amalgamation of items :)
Thanks again for all your well-wishings on the move and also my new short hair! It's going to be so much easier to care for in the desert. I would know, since it was 108ยบ the final day of house hunting.
