Something interesting did happen today....

This morning, I almost got crushed by the doors to a metro. Well, crushed would be an overstatement, but here is what happened:

I was making my transfer from the yellow to the blue line among the mob of other DC'ers trying to do the same thing. When I was on the escalator I could see a blue metro already at the platform. Knowing that I only had about 60 seconds to get on, I started shoving my way down the escalator to catch it. Unfortunately the doors closed just as I was about to hop on, but right after they closed they opened up again! I was delighted, however so were the 10 people right next to me. Next, there was a dash to make it in the car before the malfunctioning doors decided to close. I thought for sure I had made it, but when I began to squeeze into the car, the doors began closing on my arm! Now, these doors do NOT open when touched so I hopped out as fast as I could...but I still received a foot long black mark down my arm to remind me of the kind of almost not really near death situation that I had just experienced.

The Countdown is on...

Well, it is officially 25 days until I am back in Texas!! Woo Hoo!! To commemorate the occasion I have been listening to country music all day long. I even did a little two stepping in the hallways of the Department of Commerce...when no one was looking, of course.

So far, it has been a fairly good week. Yesterday, I attended a real live press conference at the head quarters of the US Postal Service. The press conference itself was not terribly interesting, although the Secretary for the Department of Commerce and the CEO of USPS were present so that was pretty cool. If you want to read about the event, you can go to the Commerce blog. After the press conference, we got to stick around for a reception. Let me tell you, the USPS sure had some gooood food! Although it was 10:30 in the morning, they had tons of little pastries, and coffee cakes, and fruit...for the health conscious. Overall, it was a nice event, and definitely it was some good publicity for our office! However, I was disappointed that I could not get a large flat rate box while I was there...lame.

Today was fairly uneventful, although work is becoming increasingly busy...I can't believe that in three and a half weeks that it will all be over with! I will be excited for my last day to get here, but at the same time I kind of don't want to give up the work that I am doing. Oh well, some good Tex-Mex will help me get over that feeling.

It has been raining a lot this week, but I'm hoping that it will clear up by Saturday. I really want to go back to the Eastern Market, as well as roam around some of the other neighborhoods. However if it is raining, I'm pretty sure I'll be staying inside. Maybe reading and making some headway on the 75 movies on my instant watch queue on Netflix. Gotta do it some time!

Things I've Noticed: Part 6

This is something I have noticed about myself, more than about D.C.: although I can survive using only 3 pairs of heels, life is certainly not as fun without the rest of my shoe collection.

Things I've Noticed: Part 5

I found out that someone I work with has never bought anything from, or stepped foot inside of a Wal Mart…mind boggling, isn’t it?

Vacation: Days 3, 4, and 5

Well, now I am back to work after my wonderful 5 day vacation. It was definitely hard to get up this morning, as I had gotten used to a) not using an alarm and b) waking up around 9:30 instead of 7. Oh well, back to the daily grind. I am officially one month (32 days) away from being back in Texas! I couldn’t be more excited! Not that I am not enjoying my time here, but I have found out a lot of things namely:

I do not enjoy living solely in the city. It is nice having everything so convenient, but I long for a nice long drive through the country and sitting outside without hearing cars honking at you.

I enjoy this line of work, but I’m not sure I would enjoy working in the government or in a D.C. caliber job. My internship isn’t necessarily stressful, but I can see how this type of career would definitely take its toll on me.

I miss Texas! I love the culture of this city, and all of the opportunities that it holds, but this trip has made me realize how much I love my state and how much I love being a Texan. Sorry non-Texans, this really is the best state in the U.S.

Now onto a rundown of the last three days of my vacation:

Day 3

Woohoo, my birthday! I want to thank everyone who wished me a happy birthday, it was an absolutely wonderful day! I started the day by waking up late and then Zane and I went out to lunch in old town Alexandria. We explored the shops and finally settled on eating at this place called Hard Times Café. Oh my goodness, favorite restaurant of all time! It was another chili bar, but so much better than Ben’s Chili Bowl. Not that Ben’s isn’t great in its own right and for being a historic site in D.C. that everyone should visit, but Hard Times was pure Texas. They had 4 styles of chili (which you could sample before you ordered), corn bread, Texas style sweet tea, Shiner beer (of which I did not partake since it was 11AM), and Texas style country music! The chili dog I had was absolutely delicious, and I can’t wait to go back there again!

Side note: why aren’t there chili parlors in Texas? I could see this place being a total hit! Below is a picture of the entrée, it may look just like a mound of chili, but that mound of chili is a mouthful of deliciousness.

After we went to the chili parlor, we hopped on the metro to visit the Eastern Market. If you are into arts and crafts, jewelry and décor as much as I am you would LOVE this place. There was handmade jewelry, trinkets and art pieces EVERYWHERE! It was so much fun to look around at everything at this market. There was even a guy selling hand strung pearls for $25! Granted, the pearls weren’t of superb quality, but they were beautiful and for $25 they were hard to pass up.I was thankful that I wasn’t carrying cash with me because I would have bought so many things.I would pass by the décor items and think, OOOh that would look beautiful in my apartment, ohh that would look nice next to my bed, ohhh that would make such a statement! As much as I want to get back to Texas, the Eastern Market is a BIG reason of why I will miss D.C.

After going to the eastern market, the day kind of wound down. Zane and I returned to Old Town Alexandria to explore and eat some more. Sadly, I did not get a birthday cake, but I am going to go to a cupcake shop in Dupont Circle called Hello Cupcakes to purchase a belated birthday cupcake.

Day 4

Independence Day! Actually, this day was not very eventful at all. Considering the amount of tourists that were out and about, we made an executive decision to travel only where our feet could carry us. So, Zane took me on a tiny tour of some more of Crystal City. We eventually ended up at the Potomac Yard shopping center and had lunch at this restaurant called Hop’s, another new favorite restaurant. This place has a microbrewery inside of the restaurant and you can get a sampler of all 6 beers brewed there for only $4! As well as the beer, the food was spectacular! They give you complimentary croissants covered in what I assumed to be butter but tasted like icing. I ordered some delicious potato soup as well as a salad. I was stuffed by the end of the meal. Here are some pictures of the feast.

After that, we went to the movie theater where we paid $9 each to get in to a matinee…another reason why I can’t wait to get back to Texas. After the movie we walked back to the apartment and waited until “A Capitol Fourth” came on TV. I am slightly sorry that I did not attend the event in person, but then again, I didn’t have to deal with all of the tourists.

Day 5

The last day of my vacation! By Monday, I really had run out of things to do. I had seen all of the tourist destinations that I wanted to see, so Zane and I walked back to the Potomac yards to watch another movie. After the movie we stopped at this grocery store which was finally reminiscent of HEB. IT was not overpriced, the aisles were large, and I only spent $30 for 2 weeks worth of food. Way different than the premium prices that I had seen at Harris Teeter!Although no grocery store will ever compare to HEB, in my eyes, this one is certainly the best market that I have come across while in D.C. After our trek back to the apartment carrying about 30 pounds of groceries, it was time to rest a bit. I pretty much hung around the rest of the evening, with the exception of our excursion to a DELICIOUS Italian restaurant for a pizza. It was a wonderful evening, and an great ending to a fantastic 5 day vacation!

Now, back to work!

One of the best parts of my birthday was my present that Zane gave me! He made a western style belt for me, which I had wanted to add to my wardrobe for a long time. Here is a picture of it! He picked out the Conchos and everything, stained the belt and put it all together…however it is missing holes so I can’t actually put it on yet. Apparently, they do not allow belt hole puncher gadgets on planes! Oh well, another thing to look forward to when I get back to Texas!

Vacation: Day 2

Well, it is the middle of my second day of vacation, and it has been just delightful! Zane and I began this morning with a nice breakfast and then off we went to the National Gallery of Art. So, the Air and Space museum was cool, but this museum will have a special place in my heart. The architecture was absolutely beautiful, and it was so BIG!! There were rooms upon rooms of beautiful art from every period! Plus, there was an awesome impressionism/modernism gallery, where I took a picture of one of Degas' famous ballet dancer paintings...as well as Zane. It was absolutely wonderful.

After the art gallery, we made our way over to U-street where I FINALLY got to eat at Ben's Chili Bowl! It was amazing. The best chili dog + chili fries, I have ever had. I think this week with Zane will officially be remembered as "Calorie Fest - Summer 2010". But, considering after that we walked about a mile or so to China town, I don't really feel so bad.

This is a picture of me in front of Ben's Chili Bowl...too bad I couldn't keep my eyes open.

After Ben's, Zane and I walked to Chinatown. I was expecting it to be similar to the Chinatown in New York, but I was mistaken. However, I did get to take a picture of the Chinatown arches, which were beautiful.

Now we are back at the apartment, but we will be leaving soon to go to eat and then check out some live bands in Old Town Alexandria. We don't have many plans for tomorrow, but I do know we will be going to Eastern Market in the morning for some blueberry pancakes! Yum!

Vacation: Day 1

Well, my first 12 hours of vacation have been super awesome! Zane flew into D.C. around 10 last night, and after that we went to a sports bar to share some chips and salsa. Apparently, he is really acquainted with the restaurants in the area, so he is going to take me to some of his favorites while he is here, including one with a microbrewery! This morning, we headed out of Crystal City and went to the Air and Space Museum - by far the BEST museum I have seen in D.C. It was super cool, you should go there. Then we walked to lunch. We ate at this place that I had been previously, Harry's and Harriet's, after not being able to eat at Ollie's Trolley(apparently they only take cash.) But I couldn't complain, we had some great food! Then, we walked over to the tidal basin to partake in some paddle boating! That was so much fun! 10 bucks for an hour in the tidal basin, it was so worth it, especially because today was so beautiful! You could see the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument from our paddle boat (pictures below).

Now, we are back in Crystal City, making plans for tomorrow!

Other exciting news:

A package from the Limited arrived today with all of the super cute stuff I bought that was on super sale!

My mom and dad sent me beautiful flowers for my birthday!

I got a hilarious postcard from my friend Jamie Wheeler. It was so funny, that I just had to post it.