Teeny Tiny Apartments and Metro Buses

DC. DC. DC. I loathe you right now.

A little story that happened this week: 

A childhood friend of mine who happened to end up in DC invites me over frequently for crock pot dinners and wine (just like how our mom's hang out back home...maybe sans the crock pot). It had been awhile since we had seen each other (we had TONS to catch up on) and he invited me over for Wednesday dinner. It ended up that his place with a bit chaotic to have dinner that night so I offered to host since I never host.

I mean let's be real, I eat lucky charms and frozen burritos for dinner when I am at my place.  I am just a serious disaster in the kitchen when it comes to cooking. I do know how to bake. Baking and cooking are NOT the same thing. You can see this story is not going to end well.

All bright-eyed-and-busy-tailed to put on the bestdinneryouhaveevereatandohandreadidyoulearntocook?, I left work headed to the grocery store and even managed to remember to buy an appetizer. At home I quickly shove things in my closet, picked up the bathroom and made sure to have the table set complete with entertaining candles. Cheese platter out, bottle of pumpkin beer cracked, I slice, dice, stir and prep for a meal of brussel sprouts with bacon and shallots, creamy parmesan polenta, and grilled petite fillet steaks. B arrives, we crack the wine, are swapping work horror stories, and I finally get the steaks on the grill pan. Smoke starts to accumulate despite my fan and open window efforts. My teeny tiny apartment doesn't come with a hood fan, so naturally it just gets worse and worse.

Logical option: open the front door so I am getting cross ventilation from the hallway.

The part I didn't think about with opening that door. Central fire alarm system. BEEEEEEEEEEP!!!BEEEEEPPPP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Oh that's right. I set off the BUILDING's fire alarm. First instinct was to flee the scene of the crime, but logic took over and I knew it was best to fess up so they didn't end up searching the entire building and getting the fire department all up in arms. After 7 painful minutes with the entire building standing outside, the building manager arrived and I fessed up to my stupid cooking mishap. Luckily, she was INCREDIBLY understanding. She probably knew the humiliation of having everyone in the building know it was me was enough punishment. We avoided having the fire department show up, but it was bad. Really bad. B did his best to make sure we ate our cold meal and finished that bottle of wine, but I won't lie... the minute he left and I was alone, I burst into tears. 

This wasn't even an incident where I burnt something, or things were going to end up tasting bad. This was my teeny tiny apartment, not having the shit that an apartment at the price I pay would have anywhere else. I start to over think that "why am I doing this anymore? what am I getting out of being here anymore?" and it became way more than a stupid fire alarm and cold steak dinner. It was a "I am really tired of all of this" cry.

Then there has been the buses. Last night, making me late to meet friends by almost 30 minutes. This morning I waited 20 minutes for a single bus to show up. Overall commute took 45 minutes when I could have (and should have) just walked.

So DC, you and your over priced, teeny tiny, pathetic excuses for apartments can just leave me alone for awhile. I am tired of your public transportation that just makes me claustrophobic and antsy, and I will say it...I will trade in my metrocard for a new car and a commute any day at this point. Just show me where to sign.

Today it was Fall

It feels like it has taken forever for fall to get here. My tolerance of the DC summers is getting lower and lower each year. I could not wait for cooler temperatures and the absence of my window air conditioning unit humming 24/7. We had gotten close over the past few weeks to having fall, but today was the first real day of fall in my books.

The true signs of fall are not Starbucks pumpkin themed drinks, or the first time I can appropriately (the bf will argue there isn't an appropriate time) wear uggs. Fall is when I can layer my bed with my big fuzzy blanket and also pick a coat in the morning. I love coats and jackets. I love me some fuzzy blankets too.

I contemplated some hot chocolate tonight too, but I sadly thought about it kind of late and didn't want to be up all night on a sugar high from the stacks of marshmallows I insist on layering into my hot cocoa.

Now that we are in fall mode, I have the urge to bake. (Well in theory I have this urge- lately my slothness has really trumped any sort of creative outlet). Pumpkin is sounding good, but I am oddly craving a multi-layer chocolate cake.

My sweaters are calling from the closet and I will have to unpack my rotating box of stored clothes here soon.

While I have been begging for fall to come. I also can't believe another fall, and another upcoming DC winter just around the corner. In a quest to find some photos for a project I am hoping to do soon, I came across pictures from my first year in DC. In some ways it seems like yesterday, and in others, it seems like worlds away. Did I think I would see two elections in DC? Um. No.

But back to fall....

What else I am looking forward to? Carving a pumpkin and roasting some pumpkin seeds!

Trifecta

I'm in a funk. I've lost the pep in my voice and the spring in my step. I've kind of turned into mix between a sloth and cookie monster. Pardon my whoa-is-me-session, I will try to keep it brief.

I am at a loss of how everything seems to be coming hard right now. We can throw in the SATC logic here, and between Love, Work and Apartments, you really can't ever have all three in perfect condition (that is like cheating the universe), but to have all three just being a beast, well it just isn't fair. (yes I am stomping one foot with my arms crossed and kind of pouting right now). I just feel like everything right now is hard and trying and frankly it has me really just down and out. I feel like I am just waiting for the next difficult thing to come around the corner. Like that rent increase I know is coming. Or the next work trip the bf has (or long night of working). Or the homesick feelings that come in waves this time of year. Or the car issues (that seem to be cropping up). Or dealing with the feeling of looking for more with my career. Or the alone feeling I get when I am at home watching TV. Facing my jealousy and insecurities seems like a daily exercise, and it all just feels endless right now. My SATC trifecta of life is just kind of a hot mess and I keep grasping for anything to feel normal or stable.

Times like these I know it is best to just talk it out, let it out, and pray for the deeper and bigger meaning of your life to be ever-so-sneakily revealed to you just enough, to know that there is certainty in chaos and hope in the times you feel the worst.

Ok, off my chest, and hopefully not too whoa-is-me-ness.

Hike!

This weekend we pulled together a quick trip to Chapel Hill so we could see my beloved Idaho Vandal football team.

We got a really late start on Friday, despite our best efforts to get out of the city mid-afternoon. We were driving and the bf starts talking about how I should drive. I wasn't really  thinking he was going to let me drive. After all, I have driven his car once. While means I have really had experience driving a stick shift all of two times in my life, and his car is just so nice. Next thing I know....

I am whipping down the highway at 70 mph in behind the wheel. Now I will say he was completely right, and once we got up to speed it was smooth sailing. It was when we hit the stop light on the off ramp where my blood pressure when up. I didn't kill us both, and we arrived safely in the wee hours of the morning.

Thinking we would just fall into bed, I started getting ready for bed when I hear the bf telling me that the bug bites he had shown me a few days ago had exploded into a giant red rash and were really itchy. We agreed that if it didn't get better, or if it was even a bit worse, we would find a doctor in the morning.

The morning I woke up to a swollen faced version of my bf telling me he had found a emergency clinic and we needed to go. I dragged my sleepy (and rather snappy and cranky) self up and off we went. I had written off the possibility of making it to the football game at this point, since I figured we had hours of tests, hospital waiting rooms, and scares of flesh eating bacteria.

Within five minutes we had a diagnosis. Poison Ivy.

Say what?!? We live in DC. You know...that place that would require poison ivy to be nuclear to grow anywhere where we might walk through it? Well after some consideration, he must have been in contact with in when we were apple picking a few weeks ago, and it just took awhile for the reaction to kick in. Luckily the sent us on our way with some medicine and hopes of the itching to stop.

Then the rain started. My childhood taught me that there is very little that keeps you from two activities: Skiing and University of Idaho football.

So we put on the raincoats and headed out. We grabbed so food and pre-game beers at Top of the Hill and then headed to the game. The Idaho section was pretty small this time around, but we always come prepared to cheer.

Let's Go Vandals!

Soaked. But stil having fun.

Grey, grey skies.

Sadly, my vandals really kind of sucked. So after two quarters, we called it quits. Itchy mcitcherson had done his duty and I was soaked through all my clothes. We went back to the hotel, dried off, napped and then headed to grab some dinner in Durham at Federal.

Sunday brought some better weather and we were able to meet up with my lil' sis from ADPi and had a lovely brunch with her. Mallory always has me laughing so hard, I am practically crying. We had nights in the sorority where we were both were delirious, hopped up on diet soda and chasing sorority girls around the greek system...and they are still some of my favorite memories. I love that girl.

It was so nice to catch up with her and see a familiar face. That might be one of the hardest things about being here. I feel so alone sometimes and most of my friends are so far away that seeing them once or twice a year is about all I get. I love having Mallory so close, and if I do stay in DC I can only hope we get down there to see her a bit more!

How Would You Convince Someone to Elope with You?

My angle was by using the line:

" Well elope rhymes with cantalope. Cantalope is good, I am sure eloping is too".

via

Who could say no?

No, I am not eloping. I promise. Like I really promise. I am not eloping. Can you even see me eloping?!?! Get. Out. Of. Town. If you do.