Wrapping Up

So, my internship is wrapping up, which means this blog will be winding down. I'd like to end on a final and, in my opinion, rather inspiring note:

Lunch was probably the highlight of my day. I ate with with a very influential Washingtonian who didn't know what he wanted to do with his life until he was 34. He called himself at 34 a "kid"--just think of being a kid at 34, it seems so ancient! He fell into his current job through a serious of flukes of fate and accidents, and it's comforting to know that road can be curvy and rough, but if we do our best it will be rewarding in the end. Setbacks are more like adventures, and I really do think "bad luck" is just a way of redirecting us. If we make the best of every situation--how can we go wrong?

I came to Washington to try and figure out what I wanted to do. I started this blog to record some of those thoughts, and I rediscovered how much I love writing. Working in a high-stress environment, I've been very lucky to be around people who truly enjoy their job, realize it's not everything, and have had amazing, crazy, and inspirational career paths. You can have fun and do good things all in once--and end up 600 miles from where you started too.

I'll leave you with Conan, I'm not sure I could sum up what I've learned any better:

All I ask of you is one thing, and I'm asking this particularly of young people who watch: please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism- for the record, it's my least favorite quality, it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I'm tell you, amazing things will happen.

Happy Easter Recess

I went to Catholic school through second grade. In the 15-odd years since I went to a religious school, "Easter" break has firmly been changed to in my mind to "Spring" break. Imagine how odd it was when the first two weeks off in April became not "April" recess but "Easter" recess.

Who knew DC was so religious?

DC is like Crack

[Author's note: I have never done crack, so I don't know if this is an accurate comparison. However, it sounds right, so I'm gonna run with it.]

DC is awesome. It's fun, it's crazy. There's always something to do or see, from exploring new neighborhoods to the multitude of national museums. The energy is absolutely addicting. There's no way not to look out from a high spot and not feel a rush.

But this place is also surreal. Things that matter in DC, don't matter anywhere else, and things that would matter other places don't matter in DC. It feeds the addiction, living in this bubble. The economy is fine here, but people are still trying to fix it for everyone else. It's almost not real.

I guess the only thing left to decide if DC is as debilitating as crack.

Thing Two

I dedicate this post to judging myself.

I tend think of myself as a pretty smart person. Generally, I'm not an idiot, and I try and not engage in idiotic actions. Crazy, maybe. Slightly reckless, sometimes. Idiotic? I truly hate that feeling and because I utterly loathe feeling incapable, I tend to be pretty quick on the uptake.

Enter Sunday afternoon. The sun is shining, the birds are tweeting...and there's a healthy 2.5-3 feet of snow on the ground in the DC area. In an effort to stay in shape, I've hyped up the runs lately. The past two were done inside on a treadmill, which I typically dislike, so today I had the *bright* idea to run outside. Why not, right? Right????

In case you've been living under a rock, this is what DC looked like Saturday afternoon:

Yes, folks, that's right. I decided to run outside. For your enjoyment, I will now document my attempted 5 miles of idiocy.

Mile 1, Arlington: Some of the sidewalks were shoveled, some were snowy. The sun was shining, I was feeling good. I slipped and fell on some snow-covered steps, but I enjoyed myself. It really wasn't so cold out, and I was jammin' to my tunes. I was feeling pretty hardcore, there were people sledding out and I was running.

Mile 2, Memorial Bridge: This is basically where the run went to shit. I grabbed my run of this site that has a ton of runs. I was running on a 12-inch wide snow tread with at least a foot high on either side of me. At one point, I decided to make a break for the road: I plunged into snow that was higher than me knee. Yeah, you heard me right. Six steps of this and I had to stop and scrape snow out of my shoe tops. Then I started running on the bridge, which was akin to running on a beach, not the part packed down by water either.

<- An illustration of my annoyance.

Halfway over the bridge, I knew my run was being cut short. I just wasn't going the entire way. While it was still sunny, the whole situation was starting to become ridiculous. One thing was for sure: I was NOT turning back and running over the damn bridge again. I decided to run over the Highway 50 bridge near the Kennedy Center, I would be able to keep going at a more manageable distance and hopefully get home much sooner that if I had continued all the way to Georgetown and over the Key Bridge.

This idea soon turned to be so terrible that the following events can only be countered as utterly ridiculous:

1. Running near the Kennedy Center is a maze of roads, and I have yet to correctly locate the (plowed) sidewalk entrance to the Route 50 bridge. This proved to be problematic. I ran down highway entrances three separate times and eventually scaled a 4 foot wall (with the help of the snow and my ninja-like skills) in order to land on the sidewalk.
2. The streets of DC may be passable (in some places), but the sidewalks are not. After scaling said wall Bond-style, I landed on three feet of snow. Luckily, most of it was packed down, so I picked my way through icy piles of snow to...
3. Three feet of snow covering most of the bridge. I tried to run for a bit, really I did. I had mostly given up after Memorial Bridge. It was at this point where I started thinking, Is this seriously happening? and I want to be home so bad, basically on repeat.
4. I started running on top of the guardrail. This elicited 3 dump truck and at least 4 car honks. Whatev peeps, there was no snow on top of the guardrail and a four feet buffer zone between the real bridge edge and the road. I was freezing, it was windy, and my nose was drippy but this was also by far the best idea I had all run (or should I say walk at this point) until...
5. The guard rail became covered with snow and I was forced back onto the side walk. Official "eff" moment of the run.

The remaining distance was pretty much pure misery. As you may have noticed, I've stopped counting miles because I stopped caring and, mostly, running. I was cold, I was wet, I wanted to be at home. I vowed not to run again outside until I knew of a clear path and would have sworn off running for a week (at least a couple of days) if not for my pure stupidity.

I'm sure I'll be back out there tomorrow, seeing as the Federal Government and most of the city (except for bars and restaurants) is still closed. So when you see a runner out scaling walls, jumping through snow banks and looking throughly miserable yep, that's probably me.

Peace out cub scouts,

The brilliant Thing Two

Whats Your Flavor?

The best tip I think I ever got was to have an issue. Have one thing that you can know, you can talk about, that can be yours. It took me six months to figure out what mine was, it sort of came to me. I've always gotten revved up about it, but one day I realized that I really wanted to work to change the status quo in it. Today I was fortunate to meet an expert in my issue, and it was...inspiring (corny, I know).

And let me tell you, it was like a drink of cold water. I've felt bogged down in some of the mundane intern tasks I've had to do, but hearing this person talk about the path they've taken renewed my love of my issue and my reasons for being here. I'm not doing the most glamorous job, but I'm here to have access to the people who do. I'm here to get a foot in the door and be introduced to the circles where I eventually hope to run.

I'm a passionate person, and I've had a chance to actually work with my issue in my college back home and I loved it. It was frustrating and addicting, and I didn't want to stop. While I don't always consider myself a competitive person, my issue is a challenge because it's not necessarily the most popular.

But I can do it, I can make it. All I have to do is want it bad enough; because if I want it bad enough, I'll make it happen.

Love the City

I have intense DC love, and I've only been here...less than three weeks?

When I first started looking at colleges halfway through high school, I envisioned a small liberal arts school in a big city. Unfortunately, those schools come with a large price tag, and I just couldn't justify sacrificing gazillions of dollars in loans when I could get a great education at a state school. Snobs, judge away. I've enjoyed my experiences with football and basketball games, tailgating and being (somewhat) anonymous.

But I absolutely love being here in DC. I've found, at least in the past few weeks, that just reminding myself that I'm in the city makes me automatically happy. Rough day at work? No worries, I'm in DC and not back home. Stupid drama got me down? It's all minor.

I guess the thing is that I've been planning on being here for almost a year and a half, and so to finally live out what I've dreamed of is fantastic. All summer, working four jobs, I just thought about how everything would be okay when I came to DC. And you know what? It really is. I know at some point I'll really miss my home, my family, my friends. At some point, there might be too much stress or too much drama and I can't just tune it out. But for now, a gimme a cup o'joe, a view of the skyline and we'll call it good.

So what's the lesson? I like big cities? I knew I belonged in a city from the start? Let's be a bit less grandiose: just being in DC makes me happy. Oh, and working for your dreams is totally worth it.

Lots of City love,

Thing Two (aka the main poster)

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

And history is way cooler when you get to experience it!

inscription (well as far as I could read, anyway):

"I have a Dream"

Martin Luther King, JR

Happy 4 day work week!

Thing Two

Restaurant Week? Yes Please!

As newly anointed DC-area residents, we decided we would try and take full advantage of fun local events. We arrived just in time for restaurant week! In search of more exotic cuisine, we chose Marrakesh Place, a swank Moroccan restaurant. This was my first time eating Moroccan, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But with a three course prix-fixe menu for only $20, I figured it had to be good!

Marrakesh Palace is up in Dupont Circle, which is a fabulous neighborhood. It's a designated historic district, and you get a really happening vibe. We saw two Starbucks on our walk from the Metro, so I'm guessing there's lots of young, highly-caffeinated, hipster-types. On a side note, I'm disappointed that I haven't found more independently owned coffee shops. I'm a huge supporter of local businesses, and while DC is thriving, I'd like to find more cool and unique coffee shops.

Back to lunch. For an appetizer, I got the Chicken Bastilla, which is "filo dough stuffed with chicken, almonds and eggs, drizzled with powdered sugar and cinnamon." It was fantastic! The chicken, almonds and eggs on the inside was perfectly accentuated by the flaky filo dough and set off by the sweetness of the powdered sugar and cinnamon. Thing One got Beef Cigars, which are "wrapped filo dough over marinated ground beef in Moroccan herbs." While the beef was well-seasoned and quite tasty, we both agreed that the Chicken Bastilla was superior.

For our main dish, we had four different choices. I had the Sword Fish, which was baked in "famous Sharmola sauce with veggies." Quite honestly, I was a bit disappointed. The fish was cooked perfectly, but the "famous" Sharmola sauce seemed like a glorified and spicy version of marinara, not at all my favorite. The portion was generous, and I couldn't (and didn't necessarily) want to finish. It was served with carrots, yellow peppers and herbs. Here's the presentation:

Thing One had the Lamb Tangine, which is "braised lamb with with prunes, sesame seeds and almonds." The lamb literally melted in your mouth, and Thing One described the sauce as "savory." The combination of tender meet and savory sauce led us to agree that it was by far the superior meat. Here's the Lamb Tangine:

Looks good, eh? Our friend had the Chicken Couscous, which also came in the options of vegetarian or lamb. She wasn't crazy about the chicken, which came on the bone, but she enjoyed the rest of the meal. It was packed with veggies, including chickpeas, peppers, zucchini and carrots.

Yum! We had chocolate cake for dessert, which was more like chocolate mousse cake, and Thing One had Baklava which was drizzled in chocolate and let's be serious, how can you go wrong when you add chocolate? We also had Moroccan coffee, which was espresso with a little bit of milk added to it. Our waiter kept our water glasses filled, and was attentive. For $20, we were able to get a fantastic meal in a swank restaurant. Apparently, there's belly dancing in the evening but we unfortunately missed that in the afternoon. There were only a few other tables filled when we were there.

I guess most restaurants book up early for Restaurant Week, we made our reservations last Sunday so I don't know if anything is still open. You can check Open Table, which is an overall useful service for making online reservations. For more information on Marrakesh Palace, check out their website.

Happy Eating!

Thing Two