cat's cradle

anyone else out there have this book? i LOVED it and was recently thinking about it when i picked up a chain at conference last week. i still find myself throwing a jacob's ladder out there whenever i come across anything that'll work. really, the game, cat's cradle, is fun to play at any age and is quite a throw back.

cleveland rocks!

well - i've been at this new job for exactly one month today (which means i've been gone from asta for a month!!) and i leave tomorrow for my first nqf conference. its an implementation conference on overuse. i'll let you know if i learn anything interesting.

the conference is at the renaissance cleveland hotel - pictured above - a historic hotel built in 1918 in cleveland, ohio. i'm hoping it will be a chance for me to bond with some coworkers as well as prove myself in tough situations (which always arise at conferences). can't say there will be a lot of blogging going on while i'm there. nqf said they won't pay for internet in our rooms. i will be sure to say somethign when i get back. until then - enjoy your week!

fave.

i thought i'd post this picture of my favorite - reese witherspoon. i always think she looks great and this picture is no exception.

jeffrey eugenides

kirstin dunst as lux, along with sisters

for months (maybe even years) now i've been wanting to read middlesex. don't ask why its taken so long, it just has. i finally got my hands on a copy last night and realized its by the author of the virgin suicides. this makes me even more excited to read the book.

virgin suicides is one of my favorite movies. directed by sofia coppala, it is the story of 5 sisters living an incredibly sheltered life because of their fundamentalist, ultra-conservative, christian parents. the story is told from the point of view of a group of boys who become obsessed with the sisters after one commits suicide. kirsten dunst as lux - the sister who dares to disobey - starts a chain reaction of events that ends in tragedy. if you haven't seen it and like to find movies off the beaten path, i suggest giving it a whirl. you won't be disappointed.

for now, i'm excited to dive into the mind of jeffrey eugenides again with middlesex. i'm sure you'll hear from me again about it . . .

congratulations are in order

my brother, evan, graduated from basic training/infantry school yesterday. he graduated as the distinguished honor graduate from his class (very exciting). this particular graduation was extra special/exciting because it was coupled with the dedication of The National Infantry Museum in Fort Benning, GA, set to open for visitors in June. there were thousands of people there for the ceremony. this is a picture of evan reciting the army creed, the rest of his company (or whatever the appropriate term is) reciting it after him. you can find an article and a video of evan being interviewed and reciting the creed here.

evan has had a bit of a bad run the last few years and i think this is a great accomplishment. i couldn't be more excited and proud.

erin go braugh!

happy st. patrick's day! this is such a fun holiday, even more fun if you happen to be irish, and i love to ebrace it because of my favorite phrase erin go braugh. it means ireland forever and i encourage you to use it all day!

as some of you may know, i studied abroad at oxford university when i was in college...and i loved it. it was only for a summer but it was possibly the best part of my four years at roanoke college. today, rj sent me an email with this picture inside. it made me happy on a day that has not gone so well. luck of the irish? i think not.

obama fingers

i just stumpled across this article on drudgereport.com. pretty ridiculous.

sixth sense

i suggest taking a look at this. wild.

two marines and a truck

i saw this on dailycandy/dc this morning and thought it was really clever. visit www.twomarinesandatruck.com. they've got all your moving needs covered it seems.

like so many of you, i took full advantage of the lovely weather this weekend. kyle and i grabbed drinks outside and saw slumdog millionaire on e street after work friday.

saturday i went hiking in great falls, va (pictures coming soon) and ventured to country night at mcfadden's saturday night. country night consisted of on the bar dancing and a mechanical bull. you may be able to make out lindsey on the bar above.

after finally waking up sunday (approximately 2pm) i cleaned and made the enchiladas i made last week. they are so fantastic i just had to have them again. i love the way they look fresh out of the oven, so much so i almost don't want mess them up by eating them...almost.

andy mckee

monday night i'm going to see Andy McKee. he's a fingerstyle guitarist with a song called 'drifting' (as seen here) that became a youtube hit a few years back. he's playing at a place called jammin java and i'm looking forward to it.

happy hour

tonight is my first new office happy hour. hopefully its fun! the people around me aren't very social during the day so maybe they save it up for outside of work get togethers. we'll see. afterward i'm heading to dinner at a wine bar with jess and izzy. should be a nice thursday night!

pink dolphin

fascinating

Britney Spears launched her first tour in 5 years last night in new orleans. according to this people.com article, it didn't go too well, which is unfortunate.

i've been pulling for her to make a come back, be her old self again, but i guess she's just not there yet.

new traditions

they say its the little things in life. well, hopefully this will be one of those things. one of my closest and oldest friends, karen, lives just 2 minutes away with her roommates and best friends from college, lindsey and lindsay. over the years, i have gotten to know them well, especially in the last (almost) 2 years. along with nicole, we've decided to try a little expiriment: to have biweekly dinners, alternating between apartments. dinner #1 is tonight at our apartment--enchiladas and wine. hopefully it becomes a long standing tradition!

lindsay, karen, lindsey

nicole and me, croquet (thanksmg) experts

last year i went to hawaii with karen and lindsey. this is us plus hill and cheryl.



nicole and me last christmas

here's to a great dinner and even better friends!

bachelor bewilderment

did anyone watch the bachelor last night? i've been sucked in this season due to the weird obsession my roommate, nicole, has for the show. boy was i glad i had last night however! bachelor jason dumped the girl he chose on tv in order to persue the runner up. if you haven't watched the bachelor this season i suggest going on abc.go.com and watching just the 'after the final rose' bs. it gives 'rock of love' a run for its money!

i read this story on my way to texas two weeks ago. i highly recommend giving it a go. its a haunting story about the struggles of a family, taking place in just a few days. i like this quote about it from publishers weekly "The chateau is an ideal gothic setting for the morbid events that occur over the course of several days; indeed, there is only one scene that takes place off the chateau's grounds, infusing the novel with an unsettling atmosphere of claustrophobia." the story really makes you think about the complications of life and how tragedy and relationships change people over time.

iblogger

Trying out the new app I downloaded yesterday. I'm finally on a bus after waiting as four wrong trains went by. I hope tomorrows commute is back to normal. With Nicole's negative 2 degrees over night claim I'm thinking tomorrow could actually be worse.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

long, short day.

like most of you on the east coast, dc received and early-march snow storm last night/this morning. the federal government was on a two hour delay (rarely happens) so i got to work this morning at 11. i fell on my way in and forgot my keys to the bathroom and the area of the office my desk resides. to top it off, my boss didn't make it in (she lives in the suburbs and couldn't drive out of her neighborhood) so i really have nothing to do. hopefully blogging will be a distraction! and hopefully my day improves!

brothers and sisters

tonight is a two hour 'movie event' of one of my favorite shows, brothers and sisters. the walkers are a dramatic family and this two hours is supposed to be the most dramatic of all. we shall see! if you haven't watched the show i suggest giving it a try. the walkers provide a great sunday distraction.

one thing you're sure to have in common with the walkers...wine. wine is present without fail in every episode.