If you had asked me earlier in the week how I felt about Halloween I would have probably told you I was dreading the event. Tuesday night I wished that I didn't have plans to go out and that I could just stay at home and watch some spooky Halloween movies. I guess the reason behind it was because I wasn't excited about dressing up, probably because I didn't have a costume. I had an idea but no costume.
This year, a friend and I are both dressing up as aliens. So last night I went out in search of some sort of robe I could transform into an alien robe. Lucky for me the picked over Halloween section at Target yielded a priest costume complete with black robe. 30% off and it fit perfectly, were the costume gods smiling on me? With priest robe in hand I headed home and started to google alien costumes. In case you were wondering there are quite a few out there and by combining ideas from different costumes I came up with a list of items I need to buy to transform my priest robe.
This morning I trekked out to the craft and fabric store. At the craft store I picked up some neon green glitter felt and a sheet of neon green foam. At the fabric store I found some emerald green metallic fabric. Then at home with the help of my sewing machine I attached the green fabric to the bottom and sleeves of the priest robe, glued a green glitter felt circle on the front of the robe in the middle and used the foam to make a stick up collar for the robe.
I have to say that despite the last-minute feeling of this costume it actually turned out pretty well. I'm kinda excited to wear it. It also means that I can wear normal clothes underneath the costume and just slip the robe over the top. Of course the make or break part of the costume will be the makeup. I have face paint and regular makeup and hopefully will come up with something that looks quite alien-like. I just hope it all washes off before work tomorrow morning.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Brrrr
It's definitely fall out here on the east coast. The last couple of days we haven't seen temperatures out of the 40s. Add to that the wind that we've been experiencing and well, you could almost call it winter. It's made me think back to my time in LA and how much I loved the fact that we had 80F temperatures at Thanksgiving. I think my parents even enjoyed that when they would visit me. Unseasonal? Yes. Glorious? Absolutely!
But one thing that I love more about Alexandria then Los Angeles is my apartment. My old apartment in Los Angeles was always cold. We had the parking garage below us, we were located on the top floor, and we only had one small wall shared with the apartment next to us. This meant that any heat we managed to create in the apartment always escaped. Luckily for me, my apartment here in Alexandria is surrounded by other apartments, above, below and on the side. This means that during these cold days my apartment stays warm enough so that I haven't yet had to turn on the heat. I guess that will be the sign that it's actually winter.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
I guess we're related
Every weekend I usually try to make contact with my family members to see what they are up to and catch up on the family gossip. This weekend was no different. But it was pretty funny when I realized that as a member of my family, weekends don't necessarily mean no work.
For example my brother spent the weekend setting up the new auto repair shop. Putting in extra hours just to make sure it would all run smoothly on Monday and Tuesday when the insurance companies were invited to tour around.
My dad, had just gotten back from England and was spending the day working getting ready for the next part which was set to start on Sunday.
And me? I worked saturday morning at Job #2 and was sitting in my house writing the curriculum for the new contract job I just picked up. For those who are counting, that would be Job #3.
So there you go. Being in my family means getting the work done, even if that falls on a weekend.
For example my brother spent the weekend setting up the new auto repair shop. Putting in extra hours just to make sure it would all run smoothly on Monday and Tuesday when the insurance companies were invited to tour around.
My dad, had just gotten back from England and was spending the day working getting ready for the next part which was set to start on Sunday.
And me? I worked saturday morning at Job #2 and was sitting in my house writing the curriculum for the new contract job I just picked up. For those who are counting, that would be Job #3.
So there you go. Being in my family means getting the work done, even if that falls on a weekend.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Funny, just plain funny
There are a couple of blogs that I follow regularly as noted over there --->
I read these blogs not because they are full of important information but because I find their writing style entertaining and most notably what they write about is relatable. Probably why I couldn't help myself from laughing out loud when I read Not Yet a Wino's post today. Definitely relatable and absolutely hilarious.
Check it out here.
I read these blogs not because they are full of important information but because I find their writing style entertaining and most notably what they write about is relatable. Probably why I couldn't help myself from laughing out loud when I read Not Yet a Wino's post today. Definitely relatable and absolutely hilarious.
Check it out here.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
New Phone
If you know me really well you probably already know that I have had the same cell phone since 2004. This was the first cell phone I ever had that was mine and yes, I was a little late joining the cell phone frenzy. But this beauty has been mine all mine since the day she came home from me and on the most part she's been pretty reliable.
Until recently. You see just after Thanksgiving last year she decided to stop ringing. I'm not sure if it's because I dropped her or if she was just sick of making noise, but she stopped. So I began my search for a new cell phone. The problem was I really wanted to stick with a Nokia phone and in all honesty T-Mobile just didn't have that many to choose from and I wasn't all wowed by the music player phones with cameras and videos and email access and all that. I just wanted a nice simple phone that rang and maybe sent text messages.
Lucky for me I was blessed with a Christmas miracle and out of nowhere she started ringing again. I was saved. I no longer had to look for a new cell phone, despite what the other people in my life believed. She rang, she texted, and once again we were good to go. Until about a month ago.
This time I have no clue what happened but apparently it was okay for people to hear me when they called, but not okay for me to hear them. The simple solution was to say, "Hello. I can't hear you, I'll call you right back." Which worked fine when people's phone numbers showed up on the caller id. But you see, my dad travels a lot and he often calls from random countries and from places that don't have their number show up. So calling him back was next to impossible. Plus there were a few friends who seemed to believe that this was a sign to upgrade to something better.
So I did. And she's wonderful. If not just for the ring tones that make me smile every time I receive a call but for the ease of texting and the camera. Who knew how great it would be to have a camera on your phone? Obviously not me because I might possibly be the last person to have discovered this act of technological genius. In case you were curious the photos attached to the two most recent posts are from my phone. Awesome. That's about all I have to say. Oh yeah, and she's silver. Although the blue example below is quite lovely too.
Until recently. You see just after Thanksgiving last year she decided to stop ringing. I'm not sure if it's because I dropped her or if she was just sick of making noise, but she stopped. So I began my search for a new cell phone. The problem was I really wanted to stick with a Nokia phone and in all honesty T-Mobile just didn't have that many to choose from and I wasn't all wowed by the music player phones with cameras and videos and email access and all that. I just wanted a nice simple phone that rang and maybe sent text messages.
Lucky for me I was blessed with a Christmas miracle and out of nowhere she started ringing again. I was saved. I no longer had to look for a new cell phone, despite what the other people in my life believed. She rang, she texted, and once again we were good to go. Until about a month ago.
This time I have no clue what happened but apparently it was okay for people to hear me when they called, but not okay for me to hear them. The simple solution was to say, "Hello. I can't hear you, I'll call you right back." Which worked fine when people's phone numbers showed up on the caller id. But you see, my dad travels a lot and he often calls from random countries and from places that don't have their number show up. So calling him back was next to impossible. Plus there were a few friends who seemed to believe that this was a sign to upgrade to something better.
So I did. And she's wonderful. If not just for the ring tones that make me smile every time I receive a call but for the ease of texting and the camera. Who knew how great it would be to have a camera on your phone? Obviously not me because I might possibly be the last person to have discovered this act of technological genius. In case you were curious the photos attached to the two most recent posts are from my phone. Awesome. That's about all I have to say. Oh yeah, and she's silver. Although the blue example below is quite lovely too.
Monday, October 13, 2008
All in a DC Weekend
This past weekend was the season home-opener for the Capitals hockey team. Me? I have never been to a hockey game before. Lots of my friends were fans of the San Jose Sharks growing up and I would hazard to say that most of them have been to a Sharks game. Lucky for me, M got me tickets to the Capitals for my birthday. I had mentioned to him that I had been to a Nationals baseball game, a Wizards basketball game, been invited to a Redskins football game but I had yet to experience Capitals hockey. I guess you could say it was the last sport I had to experience here in DC. And boy was it an experience! First of all hockey is so much more fun to watch live then in TV. The sound of the skates along the ice, the slam as they run each other into the walls, and the excitement of the crowd as the players get close to scoring a goal. In one word, unbelievable. I would even venture to say it was the most fun I have had watching a sporting event ever.
More impressive yet were the fans. I would say about 85% of the fans in the stadium wearing Red. Some in jerseys, other in t-shirts but all full of spirit. There was even a couple of ladies there who wore number 08 jerseys with the names McCain and Palin on the back.
They were handing out hockey moms for McCain stickers. Heh. But seriously, the people around our seats were really friendly and everyone high-fived when the Capitals scored their four goals. In the end we won, beating the Black Hawks 4-2.
After all the excitement of the hockey game on Saturday night I needed some rest and relaxation Sunday. This was achieved at the National Zoo. First time there and it was pretty cool. No giraffes, but we did see a hippopotamus, elephants, cheetahs, gorillas, lions and maybe a couple of other animals. Such a gorgeous afternoon to be out and about and the best part? The zoo is absolutely free. So if you didn't get a chance to see something you can always come back the following weekend!
No wonder Washington DC ranked #5 in Forbes list of both Best Cities for Young Professionals and Best Cities for Singles.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Graffiti
Last weekend when my dad was here we opened the door of my apartment to find that the hallway had been tagged. Black writing all up and down the walls.
To give you a better understanding the apartment I live in has a main door and when you walk through the main door you are in the foyer for the four apartments. There is a door to your right and left for the two downstairs apartments and in front of you are the stairs that lead to the two other apartments. So last weekend when the graffiti appeared it was all over the walls on the stairs. It looked as though someone had taken a sharpie and just had at it.
After getting over my initial shock the whole incident left me really curious. First of all, who walks into an apartment and climbs up the stairs to tag the walls? And secondly what does "Somos los jomis" mean? I am assuming that jomi is Spanish bastardization of the English word homey considering the rest of the graffiti said things like "del barrio okey" (the ghetto, okay). Seriously, who does this?
So now, imagine my surprise this morning when I returned home to find that not only has the original graffiti not been painted over but it now contains even more graffiti. This time in red. Most of the words are the same as what was there before but it also included some new words. The strange part is that the new graffiti looked like it was written by a younger hand and looked as though it was copying what was originally written on the wall. Makes me wonder about my sometimes loud, always obnoxious neighbors upstairs.
All this graffiti comes a couple weeks after some destruction of property in my neighborhood. Apparently 40 cars got their back windows smashed out in one night, I only saw 8 on my street and luckily it was a night I wasn't parked in my neighborhood. All this activity makes me wonder if maybe it's time to start thinking about a new neighborhood to live in.
To give you a better understanding the apartment I live in has a main door and when you walk through the main door you are in the foyer for the four apartments. There is a door to your right and left for the two downstairs apartments and in front of you are the stairs that lead to the two other apartments. So last weekend when the graffiti appeared it was all over the walls on the stairs. It looked as though someone had taken a sharpie and just had at it.
After getting over my initial shock the whole incident left me really curious. First of all, who walks into an apartment and climbs up the stairs to tag the walls? And secondly what does "Somos los jomis" mean? I am assuming that jomi is Spanish bastardization of the English word homey considering the rest of the graffiti said things like "del barrio okey" (the ghetto, okay). Seriously, who does this?
So now, imagine my surprise this morning when I returned home to find that not only has the original graffiti not been painted over but it now contains even more graffiti. This time in red. Most of the words are the same as what was there before but it also included some new words. The strange part is that the new graffiti looked like it was written by a younger hand and looked as though it was copying what was originally written on the wall. Makes me wonder about my sometimes loud, always obnoxious neighbors upstairs.
All this graffiti comes a couple weeks after some destruction of property in my neighborhood. Apparently 40 cars got their back windows smashed out in one night, I only saw 8 on my street and luckily it was a night I wasn't parked in my neighborhood. All this activity makes me wonder if maybe it's time to start thinking about a new neighborhood to live in.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Sick
It appears that at some point last week I picked up something. Whether it was germs from soul friend who visited for my birthday or the numerous coughing children I counsel everyday or perhaps just even the change in temperature whatever it was got me. And it got me good.
It all started with a scratchy throat. Then the sniffles joined the party. Eventually scratchy throat turned into extremely sore and painful throat. So much so that I decided a day of talking to patients all day was just not going to happen. I thought I was okay yesterday, but after an hour of work I was told to go home. They could tell in my face that I was just not well.
Luckily after two days of bed rest and lots of fluids (have you ever tried drinking a full glass of water every hour, it's tough!) I am finally feeling better. Still have the runny nose and the cough, but at least my voice is more or less back to normal and I have returned to work. I guess I'm not really happy about the being back at work part but I am hoping this means that by the weekend I will be full of energy and ready to have fun. Or at least be able to take full advantage of sleeping in, well at least on Sunday when I don't have to work.
It all started with a scratchy throat. Then the sniffles joined the party. Eventually scratchy throat turned into extremely sore and painful throat. So much so that I decided a day of talking to patients all day was just not going to happen. I thought I was okay yesterday, but after an hour of work I was told to go home. They could tell in my face that I was just not well.
Luckily after two days of bed rest and lots of fluids (have you ever tried drinking a full glass of water every hour, it's tough!) I am finally feeling better. Still have the runny nose and the cough, but at least my voice is more or less back to normal and I have returned to work. I guess I'm not really happy about the being back at work part but I am hoping this means that by the weekend I will be full of energy and ready to have fun. Or at least be able to take full advantage of sleeping in, well at least on Sunday when I don't have to work.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Dad's Back!
This past weekend I was lucky to have my dad come visit me and boy what a good time we had. Friday night when he arrived we went out to Jaleo in Crystal City. Jaleo is a spanish tapas restaurant with locations in Crystal City, Washington DC, and Bethesda. Chef Jose Andres has quite a few restaurants in DC including Jaleo, Cafe Atlantico, Zaytinya, minibar, and Oyamel. I have now been to the majority of these and they are all quite delicious. I like the fact that you can order a few of the dishes and share them instead of being stuck with one main dish. Plus the restaurant in Crystal City has live music on Friday nights.
Saturday morning Dad got to watch me in action as I taught my weekend nutrition class. Lucky for him this group was a lot more engaged then the last one he observed and the space we teach in is a lot more conducive for our program. At one point one of the mothers pulled me aside and whispered in Spanish, "Who is that man?" At which point I realized I had never introduced him to the group! I bet they were sitting there the entire time wondering who the nicely dressed white man was and why he was watching them. They all seemed to relax a bit when I smiled and told them he was my dad.
Saturday afternoon I took dad to get his hair cut at the Old Town Barbershop. A good cheap cut but according to my dad the head massage is a little over-rated. Then we wandered around Art on the Avenue in Del Rey. Lots of people, lots of arts and crafts, and lots of music/dance stages.
Saturday evening we went to Cork for dinner and had the most delicious meal and wines. Then we wandered over to Dupont to meet up with some of my friends. It must be weird as a parent to hear names of all your children's friends and never meet them. I guess I'm lucky that my parents have met most of my important friends.
Unfortunately Dad's visit ended early Sunday morning so that he could get back to New Jersey for his next program. But that meant I could get the apartment cleaned up and two hours of work done before picking M up from the airport. All in all it was a very busy weekend but lots of fun. The perfect balance between exploring, hanging out with friends and family, and getting some work done. If only the weekend was four days instead of two.
Saturday morning Dad got to watch me in action as I taught my weekend nutrition class. Lucky for him this group was a lot more engaged then the last one he observed and the space we teach in is a lot more conducive for our program. At one point one of the mothers pulled me aside and whispered in Spanish, "Who is that man?" At which point I realized I had never introduced him to the group! I bet they were sitting there the entire time wondering who the nicely dressed white man was and why he was watching them. They all seemed to relax a bit when I smiled and told them he was my dad.
Saturday afternoon I took dad to get his hair cut at the Old Town Barbershop. A good cheap cut but according to my dad the head massage is a little over-rated. Then we wandered around Art on the Avenue in Del Rey. Lots of people, lots of arts and crafts, and lots of music/dance stages.
Saturday evening we went to Cork for dinner and had the most delicious meal and wines. Then we wandered over to Dupont to meet up with some of my friends. It must be weird as a parent to hear names of all your children's friends and never meet them. I guess I'm lucky that my parents have met most of my important friends.
Unfortunately Dad's visit ended early Sunday morning so that he could get back to New Jersey for his next program. But that meant I could get the apartment cleaned up and two hours of work done before picking M up from the airport. All in all it was a very busy weekend but lots of fun. The perfect balance between exploring, hanging out with friends and family, and getting some work done. If only the weekend was four days instead of two.
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