Yo! Adrian

As promised, here is the post about Philly.

Last Saturday I sent my friend Anna a text to see if she was up for going out.

Her reply: I'm leaving for Philly, I've got a conference there all week.

My reply: Oh, maybe I should come with you.

And that's exactly what I did. I rounded up some clothes and Gretchen and we headed to Philly with Anna.

I've been to Philly several times (once by accident) and I always end up doing the same things: Looking at the bell and eating at the Reading Terminal Market. So this time I wanted to explore the land. And do you know the best way to get a good overview of any city? It's the hop-on hop-off bus. I'm telling you, it's perfect. I've done it in London, Dublin, Boston, Chicago, and now Philadelphia. At first Gretchen thought it was dumb and that I was crazy, but she's come around. It's such a great way to see the highlights, get around, and hop-off whenever you want.

So our first hop-off was the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We hopped off on the back side of the museum and we were surprised when we walked around to the front to find the Rocky extravaganza in full force. Boxing ring, gloves, robes, free cheesesteak. It was amazing (except for the cheesesteak, that was disgusting). And so in the spirit of full participation in random street events we put on those free robes and posed for pictures.

Warning: These are not the most flattering pictures....

This is my tough guy face.

The rest of the day we spent shopping and eating, because when I say "explore the land" that's exactly what I mean.


P.S. If you ever need a Rocky robe, I've got one.

Living Under a Rock

So I'd heard of Pandora but for some reason I never really thought about using it. But now that my new job requires hours and hours of drawing in AutoCad, listening to music at work is a necessity. So Friday I used Pandora and I loved it. And then yesterday I thought--hey, maybe there's a Pandora iPhone app. There is. I love it! Love Love Love. It's life changing. Like tonight on the bus ride home from an impromptu trip to Philly I listened to one of my Pandora stations. It was super fun. As was the Philly trip. But that will be another post with pictures. Hilarious pictures. Because that's what happens when you stumble on the end of a Rocky event at the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum on a Sunday morning in November. Stay tuned...

At War With The Internets

The Internets and I have been at war for a couple of weeks and right now we are in the bloodiest of all the battles....The Installation of Verizon DSL. Luckily, I'm using one computer to install and the other, this one, to internet using the neighbor's connection. Seriously, it's just easier to "borrow" the internet rather than install it. Bleh.

So this war with The Internets has slightly limited my interneting and with it, blogging. And blogging is something I do not have the patience to do on the iPhone. Can you imagine? Also, I haven't had much to say. There is the new job, which has been interesting to say the very least. Imagine getting a new job at your old job. Not a promotion, or even a slightly different position. No, a whole new job you know nothing about. NOTHING. And maybe people assume you know things because they've seen you around for years, but you don't. Sure, you know how to print and where the bathroom is, but everything else has changed. Even doing your timesheet and using the phone has changed. And then there are the clients. CLIENTS. And I would tell you all about it, but that would be breaking the rules (of blogging by Camie). But I will go out on a limb and tell you that the project I'm working on is for The World Bank and the politics at that place are insane. And I'm pretty sure I've only seen the tip of the iceberg. But my days go by so much faster and I'm happy.

You'll be happy to know that the war with The Internets is over, and I won. For now. And I'm currently connected to my very own internet. Well, I'm sharing it with Gretchen.

So speaking of the internet, yesterday I received a friend request on Facebook from a girl I went to high school with. And we were NOT friends. Not at all. And by not at all I mean, the last time I remember seeing her we were fighting in the school parking lot after a basketball game. She said something and I said something and she said something and then I called her a bitch and walked away. So I'm just going to go right ahead and ignore that friend request. IGNORE. But it made me realize that while I may not be the nicest person as an adult, at least I'm not as mean as I was in high school. And maybe, just maybe, I'll turn into a nice old lady one day.

Some News

I'm going to tell you something and when I tell you, I want you to imagine that I am standing in front of you cool, calm, and collected, but inside I'm jumping up and down and squealing like a little girl who got a Cabbage Patch Doll for Christmas in 1984.

Friday was my last day as a project assistant in architecture and Monday morning at 8:30 am (give or take a few minutes) I will start my career as an interior designer.

I'm excited and a little nervous, but mostly excited.

Possible Retirement

CANstruction 2009 was quite an undertaking. 5,000 cans! It was exhausting. But it was fun and it turned out super. And maybe a few less people will go hungry in DC this winter.

Here are some shots of the action:

The finished product:

Wall-e, Eve, the boot and plant from the movie Wall-e.

*That is a McDonald's Happy Meal box in the background. Just in case you were wondering.

Adorable

How adorable are my little nephews? I miss them terribly. Terribly.

And Just Like That, The Whole World Changed from Silver to Gold

I went to Chicago. Last weekend. For....a.....umm............. LDS (mormon) mid-singles conference. My friend Ryan thinks I should refer to it as mixer, but Ryan is not mormon and doesn't know that calling it a mixer is way too cool of a description for what it actually is. There is a whole list of reasons that led to my decision to sign up for an event that I would normally shun. The top of the list is the fact that this most socially backward uncomfortably awkward event of the year was taking place in Chicago. Chicago, the cool big sister to this homely little town I live in called DC. I fell in love with Chicago. It's tall magnificent buildings, it's cool, hip neighborhoods, amazing shops, views of the lake, bars, clubs, restaurants, taxi drivers, "beaches", parks, did I mention the shopping? I'd been to Chicago before, but it just wasn't as magical then. Maybe it's changed. Maybe I've changed. I think it's me. I can't possibly be you, my love.

The conference was a disaster. Such a disaster that it became the final nail in the coffin of my hope of someday finding a nice NORMAL mormon guy to marry. I wasn't expecting to meet my soulmate, or even my not-even-closemate, but I thought that there would, at the very least, be a few people there who would restore my faith in the single mormon male race. I was mistaken. Sorely mistaken. I'd love to go into all the details, but we just don't have the time. I will tell you about getting asked to dance by a guy so sweaty he looked like he had jumped in a pool with his clothes on. I'M SERIOUS. Remember the time I was in Mexico and I passed out in the shower after calling out to Gretchen for help? Remember how I immediately forgave her for not coming to my rescue? Well, I will NEVER forgive her for not saving me from dancing with that sweaty beast. And I watched another guy lay his entire body over a beautiful 48" round cherry pedestal table in the entryway of the South Shore Cultural Center (a place so nice and fancy that Barrack and Michelle Obama got married there) because he was just so exhausted from dancing to stand another minute. Did I mention there was a sofa and several chairs just 5 feet away? And the guys weren't the only problem. I saw girls drying their sweat soaked hair under the hand dryer in the bathroom. Classy. Are you wondering how hot it was to create such a large number of sweaty people? Umm...not hot. The only reason they were sweating was because they were dancing like fools. Seriously, it looked like the first episode of Dance Your Ass Off, but without the fancy outfits and choreography. Men and women in their 30's. Adults. Grown adults. Sober grown adults. Adults who were apparently raised in a barn, acting like teenagers. Worse than teenagers.

Speaking of teenagers, when we walked into the conference and picked up our registration packets, we had to sign a waiver. A waiver that stated that we would adhere to the standards in the Strength of Youth pamphlet. If you don't know what that is, it's basically a set of guidelines given to the youth of our church regarding sexual activities. I think. I mean, number 1, I haven't been a teenager for 16 years. And number 2, when I was a teenager, I wasn't interested in the church limiting my extracurricular activities, so I'm not sure I read it. And let me tell you something, I'M CERTAINLY NOT INTERESTED IN IT NOW. Needless to say, when Gretchen and I saw that line on the waiver we both doubled over laughing.

But Chicago was amazing (you know, the parts when we were skipping out on the conference activities) and I'm just going to put it all out there and tell you it may have been my favorite trip of all time. There I said it. It was everything I always want my trips to be. I met up with my good friend Andrew who moved from DC to Chicago one month ago and I've missed him everyday since. I found the most delightful shops around Lincoln Park, ate at delicious restaurants, stayed in a totally styled out boutique hotel (certified LEED silver, of course) and stumbled upon the coolest night club where I danced the night away with my old friend Keith and his friend Paul. And I found the most amazing gold ring at Kenneth Cole on Michigan Avenue. So cool that it's changing the way I accessorize. From silver to gold. Well at least part-time. And that my friends is really something.

Wow, that was a long post. If you've skipped to the end, let me sum it up for you....

Wearing gold, dating non-mormons. At least part-time.

Did I mention the shopping?