Above all things I wish you love

I wanna be in love

2008-10-29T01:18:00.000-04:00

That's all. I miss it. :)

Not a title: Zip, Zilch, Zero, and the downfall of American literacy

2007-08-21T21:55:00.000-04:00

This story on CNN was rather disheartening.

Apparently, 1 in 4 American adults didn't read a book last year.

Really?

To someone who's read at least 10 books since May, this news is sickening. No books? None? How do you survive? How do you educate yourself? I can't even process this. But it shows just another way that Americans are lacking.

Currently reading: Eat Pray Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert.

[Also, the story could've been helped greatly by a CNN unofficial poll at the bottom of the story asking the audience about their reading habits.]

Three plays

2007-07-24T00:52:00.001-04:00

bobrauschenbergamerica - Splashes of lives, like Rauschenberg's paintings. Random rubber chickens falling from the sky, audience participation like wearing smocks, playing duck-duck-goose in the middle of the show and joining in the dance finale, plus a girl on rollerskates. All in a 40-seat art studio/gallery with the director in the front row. Good fun. The definition of an art 'experience.'

Romeo & Juliet: A Crime Scene Investigation - A high school production of Romeo & Juliet, with weird inclusion of two Juliets and a narrator who was supposed to be investigating but really just intro'd the scenes they had chopped out of the original. Blech.

Death before Dying - Cool East-West interpretive dance. Didn't get why there was two East and four West, and the dancing was obviously amateur-ish, since it was not really varied. The live band of 7 to 12 was awesome and I want their CD.

Three books

2007-07-24T00:45:00.000-04:00

HP 7 - The older I get, the more I appreciate J.K. Rowling's sheer literary genius. She can make you get into the book and FEEL HP & Co.'s trials and triumphs in real time. Tolkein-genius? Possibly, but without the years of experience developing a whole literary alter-world.

Herman Hesse's Siddartha - Like reading a meditation exercise. Helps put things in perspective. Helps small discomforts feel ... small. Quick read, but very good lessons. Also, Hesse is classic.

The Namesake - Everyone should own and cherish and pass on all of Jhumpa Lahiri's books. Brilliance. A warm blanket on a cool night; ice cream on the patio with fireflies. Cozy, human.

And I said

2007-07-24T00:12:00.000-04:00

What about, breakfast at Tiffany's? She said I think I remember the bell hop ...

This weekend I ...

Went to three plays
Got accidentally drunk on five full glasses of chardonnay on my BF's friend's roof after not eating lunch, dinner, or intending to drink that night
Bought Harry Potter 7 drunk after said roof escapade
Finished it by Sunday afternoon
Found a wallet while drunk (after buying HP7) turned it in and got e-mailed by the owner saying she'd retreived it!
Sat by the pool for 9 hours (while reading HP7)
Was solicited for help on a screenplay that centers around a character mourning the tragic death of ... yes ... Barbara Streisand.

In the last week I ...

Wrote 5 stories, the most since I've started work again
Read three books, a total of 1135 pages
Was inspired to cook new & interesting things again (Asian Noodle Salad, etc.)

This week ... (and next)

I should get a lot of story time, because Congress is wrapping and they need help
My dad is in town Sunday thru Thurs next week and I get to live in his hotel, which offers free breakfast buffet, free happy hour, and, oh yeah, is literally across the street from work: 40 min commute now = 40 seconds. All right dad! :)

And she said

2007-07-12T22:18:00.000-04:00

Bon jour,
I am still alive, faithful fans ;) It's been officially two months since I've been in D.C. I've gone through a whole bottle of shampoo already. That's a weird realizations that kind of says you've settled.

My days focus on working out, reading, saving money, doing what I call "cultural" stuff. That means attending as many events and lectures and museums as possible, although I don't do nearly enough.

I slipped from my previous stellar diet & exercise plan for about 3 months, and it was starting to show. So I joined DC's rather posh Y on 6/26 for cheap on CQ's discount, and have been running 3-5 days a week, plus going to this awesome gym class. I can really start to feel it if I slack, so that's good! :) This awesome gym class is

Had a problem with my stomach after I moved, some IBS/ulcer/couldn't eat raw spaghetti noodles w/o burning pain. I saw a doc & started listing off possible factors (moving, graduating, starting a new job, etc etc etc) and he actually stopped me and goes, "Yeah, you're giving yourself an ulcer." Oh, and the week before I saw him, I spent 3 straight days drinking on a camping trip. And when I say straight, I mean case/day. Yeah.

So I'm ruined on caffeine, alcohol, most dark chocolate, most Indian food (my fave!), most spicy food. It's been an adjustment, possibly a healthy one but I'm not so sure about that no-Indian-food thing.

Mentally, I've been interested in things like global warming, investing and as use, Congressional drama & gossip. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is by far my favorite governmental body in the world (after Kofi Annan's UK and Greenspan's fed, natch.) I've covered some of the Sci&Tech comm.ee, which has been v cool because they do some very cool things, even if they are like a year or two being CW.

I'm also reading the WSJ twice a week (Sunday & usually Weds.) I picked it up because I was interested in every single story on last weekend's edition. It's actually, by far, the best journalism in the world. It's some of their story subjects that don't interest me, like insider-baseball WallSt. stuff. But today they have a great article about Haute Couture, and a hilarious article about the Whole Foods' CEO going on Yahoo on an anon. handle, dissing a competitor & lovin' on WF. Who does that!?

Reading, omg have i been reading. 40+ pgs a day. There's a little coffee shop in the residential (think tree-lined streets, townhouses with stoops) neighborhood I work in that has a little sidewalk patio overlooking a park. The owner's real cool, real SanFran (he's from there) with organic-dominant menu and a v. chill attitude. I MUST recommend What is the What. Every human being who has money to spend should read that book & redirect a tiny amount of money towards darfur. Joan Didion's "the year of magical thinking" is an amazing tale & analysis of loss, grief, and moving on. I read "all the president's men," such a natch for DC. Now I'm about 348 pgs into a compilation of Edith Wharton's short stories, letters, non-fictions, and part of her novels. Ethan Fromme is a must, soon!

Uhm, what else? Tim & I took a day trip to the beach Sunday, v. spontaneous after his appearance on MSNBC. Been to a few good house parties. Had the camping in West Virginia, which I survived! :) Was in Delaware with the beaches! Awesome. Must get to NYC soon, as CHo has a job there (finally!) Afraid to go because I'm afraid I'd never leave [/kill him in jealousy & steal his ID ;) ;) I kid ... sort of ...] My parents were also in town for the Fourth, which was a very good time.

Love, lovers.

Tenleytown

2007-05-10T21:08:00.000-04:00

At 1:36 p.m., I moved away from Michigan. Permanently. No internship circuit anymore, folks, this chick has left the barn for good.

My new place, Tenleytown, is so badass. Lots of green and big houses. And they're well kept, not like Old 16th Street Heights, where I lived. As I was walking to the Whole Foods, conveniently next to the Metro, a convenient 10 minute walk (uphill there! hello exercise) from my place, I saw a restaurant, Neiga (Japanese, likely?) and heard music on the patio. That nice, summer nights music. Another glance, and it turns out our music was coming from non other than a live band! Sigh. Love.

There's also so much history where I live now. What used to be a reservoir for Georgetown was turned into a huge underground complex, rumored to be the place they send C.people when something bad happens. It's this huge (3 football fields +), flat, grassy plain that has hatches and a huge, impenetrable fence. Badass. Also, and sadly, I live 3 blocks from where former NYT editor Daniel Rosenbaum was murdered 2 years ago. He might have been okay after he was randomly attacked, but the 911 system fucked everything up.

What else? I live in one room with two windows, a dresser, desk, bookshelf, bed (obvi), stereo, rocking chair. Wood floors. Share the bathroom with Will, yet to be met. 24-y.o. architectural student on his 2nd semester with the G.Mans, my landlords. MG is sweet, and Mrs.G is the main renter contact and is pretty cool but away in Asia on assignment until mid-June.

My veggie pizza is almost done, and I've got two more bags to unpack, so I better ghost.

Holla! ~<3~

So Sufjan tho

2007-02-03T20:21:00.000-05:00

Growth. Advancement. Working on it.

The past week has been full of growth.

The boy left on Sunday, and since then it's been a lot of deep talks and serious things, but all good. A fight that left us about 10 steps further ahead. A convo that had to be had, and I'm glad when it was.

Working out was another challenge this last week. Well, it killed me. 45 minutes, 3 Days, Cardio Pace. Monday, Weds, Thurs. My legs still slightly burn. I tried starvation, it barely worked. Left me dehydrated and fuzzy and tired at best. However, it was necessary to speed over that hump. Even I was laid out at the bottom of it. After a weekend of really good restaurants and drinks, and a week of leftovers, it was so necessary tho. Weight-check next week, obviously I can "weight" (get it!?) or I'd've done it by now.

Making good progress on my HW for next week. Since I did none last week, I was screwed occas. (like for PoliPhl, again.) That sucked. Esp. after getting my Noir paper back and not doing swell. Hopefully that will change ...

Here's to next week.

What goes around comes around ...

2007-01-21T11:53:00.000-05:00

Anyone else find it odd that after 4 or 5 years together, Justin & Cameron only break up *after* Britney's divorced? Hmm? Hmm? Hmm? Yeah, I should be an investigative celebrity journalist. Hahhahahahahhahhaa. But seriously, Dirt magazine. Anyone have Court's number?

LDR

2007-01-12T00:32:00.000-05:00

I <3 my baby more than I can articulate (and I'm supposed to be a writer?) and being so far away is terrible.

I wish I could travel by just folding a map, or walk 1,000 miles, or have a "Scotty" who could "beam me up," or a modified, correctly-working version of the Willy Wonka TV travel service ......

Banaynay!

2007-01-06T21:57:00.000-05:00

I dropped a dress size at Banana Republic! I dropped a dress size, I dropped a dress size!

Holllllllllllllller!

Working out all the time really DOES do miraculous things! :)

There'll be no snow ... EVER AGAIN.

2007-01-02T17:45:00.000-05:00

Sure, most global-warmists are also considered the other, terrifying -ist: Alarmist.

However, there is NO SNOW ON THE GROUND IN MICHIGAN IN JANUARY. There was no snow for Christmas Eve, none Christmas Day, none even for New Year's Eve.

You tell me there's NO GLOBAL WARMING.

###

Memories of faces trace through the sunset shadows

2007-01-02T17:22:00.000-05:00

Back in E.L.
BACK. IN. East Lansing.
It feels good to say that.
For the first time in five months, I feel like I'm home.
Sure, I was home in D.C., nearly an ideal home, but it was a false home with a deadline. An ending. Credits had to roll. Nothing I lived in was mine, I wouldn't have that furniture or those curtains, etc.
So being in MY apartment (*to be fair, it's "OUR" apt., since my rmmt Laura is as much a part of this as the rooms in these walls ... but it's easier to say My) feels ... delicious. Apartmelicious.
It's this core thing, the energy's back inside. This is the desk I've used since 5th grade. Those are my sheets and my baby twin bed. That's my book case. That's the view from my window ... eeriely similar to the view from my last window in D.C. Even going grocery shopping feels somehow more glorified. That's likely lame. But I hadn't cooked much my last 2 months in D.C. because of dates w/Tim, so I'm looking forward to that.
I'm also going out with the girls tonight, with Margaret and Esther to Blood Diamond. It feels *real* good to see my friends again.
I'm back at TSN tmrw, in a different capacity of course as a secretary. It will be a new, but structured, but still busy time.
I'm taking 17 credits. It'll be sweet to walk around campus and be a co-ed again.
As I was tearing up my last nights in D.C., everyone, everyone, said they wish they could go back to their last semesters in college and live it up all over again. I could hardly believe that would be an ideal, considering I was about to depart from mine.
However, I think I get it. This is going to be the sweetest semester of my life.
Holla.

Hollaback young'un!

2006-12-28T21:33:00.000-05:00

Well, the only thing that is back is my ...

LAPTOP!

My dad, who is the least sports-y (his forte is golf), least outdoors-y (he abhors hunting), least computer-savvy dude did something to the motherboard, and it's been working!

I instantly backed up all of my photos and docs, and then deleted everything that was on a disk or that I didn't need; which I will do from now on. THEN I went through myTunes collection, which has taken a full day, and backed up all my music, and deleted the stuff from iTunes that I just really didn't need - which turned out to be 8 GBs!. THEN I used the Windows tool "clean up disk C:", which gets rid of temp files and things that you don't need. I got rid of 1 MILLION KBs of info, not to mention about 9 GIGS! from myTunes and my photos. THEN I de-fragged my computer, which streamlines your files so that they are in order (when you download things, your computer puts them wherever the free space is.) This took about 2.5 hours! But I think Old Bess is working okay, and that takes $800 of the stress of buying a new computer out of my life! YAY!
I just COULDN'T BEAR to lose this computer, so I will attempt to take care of it to the best my inept knowledge of technology will allow.
Hollaback, young'computeruns.

Ollie ollie oxen free!

2006-12-26T01:54:00.000-05:00

The tally:
(1) Tori Amos "Piano" Collection
(1) Stella McCartney perfume gift set, inc. big bottle, candle, body lotion
(1) Pair of amazing UO grey boots
(1) JFK's "Profiles of Courage" 50th Ann. Edition
(2) Pair black printed tights
(1) Grey turtleneck sweater
(1) Black leather purse
(1) Badass crocodile skin patent leather red wallet
(2) iTunes gift cards
(1) Sweet picture frame w/Newsprint AND fashion accents
(2) Ornaments from mom
(3) Dollars won from lotto tickets

The only casualty:
(1) Pair of grey work pants that ended up too bootylicious for work

I hope Santa fulfilled all your heart's desires!!!
xoxox... and to all a good night!

Christmas list

2006-12-21T22:18:00.000-05:00

You all do it, so shut the fuck up and read:

Asking list:
Various gift cards for clothes and books
U.O. Boots
Black high heels
Stella McCartney perfume
Tori's "Piano"
White button down and grey pants
Suitcase (hahah, seriously, but what a message for my parents)
Paints
A jewelry box for travel

Guess list:
I bet I get a B & N gift card, gas gift card, I know I'm getting the boots, prly the Stella, likely the jewelry box, and maybe some shirts.
Outcome to be totalled Christmas day.
The box is not my ideal; the boots, Stella and this AmApp dress I JUST found are; but I seriously don't need that much schtuff, just money, so any gift card is a major score. How lame; NPR just did a story about how that's become the prevailing gift. That made me throw up a little, how lazy can America get, right? Til I realized that, oh yeah, that's the ideal, because then you don't get disappointed. I mean, who's ever gotten what amounts to an open check and cried about it?
I don't need stuff because all of my other "schtuff" is all in boxes right now, anyways; plus the 'rents gave me a lot in D.C. So, there's that. Christmas is totally losing its charm; the Jesus thing is gone and now even the materialism is just grating and sick. Sigh. At least there's Christmas in NYC to hold onto ...

The Art of Downtime

2006-12-21T21:50:00.000-05:00

I am a big fan of vacation.
France's 5 weeks off sounds like heaven to me. I have so many "hobbies" and am always trying to learn stuff that I have wishlists to fill that time with. Like writing a novel and painting a masterpiece, etc.
I mean, sure sure, I like work. But I don't like doing something I don't want to do, and sitting around doing nothing at work or doing bitchwork or waiting for sources to call you aren't ideal ways to spend time.
It's those times I dream of vacations, of cabins to write in and beaches to frolic on.
One month at home after my longest straight bout of working, seven full months, should be like, ecstasy, right?
Here's the deal: Midland. My parents. Chris not home. No other friends.
My wish list quickly dwindled. Last week I was uber-busy organizing and getting my life back together so I can graduate, move out smoothly, etc. Yesterday I spent the whole day painting. I read three books in 7 days. I made my own sweater today.
I'm lost now.
I just wrapped my own Christmas present, that's how bored I am. [My mom needed one more present for me so she opened it up to whatever I wanted, and bought me my dream UO boots (!!!) and they just came today in so she was like, well, go wrap them if you're bored.]
I'm sort of at that place where I don't really want to do any chores. I've spent so much time today being creative I'm crapping out at the end like a spent marathon runner. I actually walked for an HOUR today (I don't do the e-word: "exercise.") I mean, we're getting really desperate here.
I think that not having the stimulation of human interaction is part of the problem, for sure. I need something to stimulate me.
Chris is coming home tomorrow, for about four or five days, so that will be good, and then I'll go visit him for NY'sE.
Mike R. also called me, totally sweet, and we had fun last night. I should've called him tonight, sure, but I don't know if that would be weird to do 2 nights in a row and then peace out for a while, when CH is here.
I'm going back to East Lansing in (is it already?!) 12 days. -6 w/CH = 6. So I should be embracing, with zest, the down time and the time to do whatever I want, and read, and paint, and maybe try writing.
I'm wondering if I am suffering from the coyness of finally having something open to me. That would be sad, wouldn't it? But that's how human relations suffer, so why not my relations with my art?
There are a few other things, too. I FOUND the oils book I was looking for; alas, I am broke and do not have $22 to purchase it. Otherwise I'd be painting masterpieces, for sure.
On the broke note, canvases are expensive and I don't like wasting them for "ideas." Must ask pro about how to solve this.
Another element is that I haven't been out of the house today, or more than once a day in the last 4. It's amazing how you can watch the hours go by inside and not even make it out there. [No wonder there's global warming, no one notices the temperature rise. Don't you wonder why we aren't having a White Christmas this year?]
Not going outside doesn't mean I'm lazy (see 1 hour of walking during the early Stewart/Colbert rerun), just not interested in anything out there in this town. Compared to D.C., shudder. It's a wasteland, as MR said. And I see this as sort of a detox period. Maybe I'll be better able to embrace a semester in, shudder, East Lansing-after-D.C. if I stay within these walls and bore myself to near-death. But I think this is stemming the natural juices of creativity from the sun, or something.
Suddenly, I'm looking forward to school starting and having "things" to "do" again. :) Give me four weeks before I write complaining about how I don't get to do anything I want to anymore. 17 Credits here I come!
For now, I will paint my nails to the delishious toons of Gym Class Heroes. Oh no!!!!!

Cookin' up a holiday storm

2006-12-19T20:16:00.000-05:00

Happy holidays, to you! Hope you're having fun rockin' around the Christmas tree, prancing through the snow (er,...), and talkin' with Old St. Nick.
Christmas starts about a week early in my house. Sure, the presents are bought and wrapped before TGivs, thanks to Mom's wonderful planning and knowledge that I will peek if she just leaves them lying out in her closet after I return home from school. But the real meat of Christmas - the cooking - starts about a week early.
First, there's acquiring all the ingredients necessary to feed a feast for four. Mom usually goes massively grocery shopping a week before, and on Monday she did go, ever the routiner, but this time my dad was with her (likely much to her chagrin) because she's recently gotten foot surgery and needed assistance. Fair enough.
Then, phase one. Tuesday means the chocolate chip cookies and the dough for cutouts. It really wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't dip my finger in the cutout dough - a delicacy unlike any other on Earth, truly - or gain 15 pounds thanks to Mom's cooking. Wednesday, it's cutout sugar cookies and decoration time. Thursday is the snack mix. Saturday morning will be the ham and meatballs, the main course, with some of the side dishes cooked up Sunday, early enough so all can get ready in time to be at Christmas mass the required one hour early to "get a good seat." I've never been in favor of my parents' policy of "getting a good seat" anywhere. If you show up 15 minutes early, you'll be there 5 minutes before anyone else and 10 minutes before most people. However, we must sit, with nary but the select old folks who are still walking to their seats or praying novenas and such.
The feast in all its magnitude will begin promptly after presents on Monday, the glorious day of Christmas.
Presents are opened immediately after waking, which until this year has been restricted to 7 a.m., despite my sister and I being wide-eyed at as early as 4 a.m. This year is the first year my sister doesn't live at home, so she will be driving here "between 9 and 10," which is truly unfortunate and no 7 a.m. However, I know 1/3 of my presents this year, and there are more boxes for my sister's long-term boyfriend under the tree than for my parents' eldest daughter, so I will let the presents issue lay to rest.
So the eating begins, with a giant breakfast of ham -and-eggs-and-cheese, and then my mom cooks up some more side dishes while we play with our "toys" or watch 8 repeated viewings of my sister's latest DVD score. "Dinner" is served around 4 p.m., all the ham, meatballs, broccoli and rice casserole, mashed potatoes, and veggies you can handle.
With that, digestion under the glow of the tree, watching another DVD or hopefully, if lucky, the best movie of all: A Christmas Story.
And to all, a good night!

Technical difficulties

2006-12-19T12:22:00.000-05:00

One Dell Inspiron 5100, 2003-2006. R.I.P.
The Dell people, after cleverly swindling me out of a likely $49 service charge for some dude on the other end of the phone to tell me my computer wasn't starting because the motherboard was roasted, have declared that, NON! I can not extend my warranty, NON! I can not use their $49 fee for a one-time looksie at the SOFTWARE for someone to come fix my computer, and NON! There is no saving my beloved.
"The only option," said computer dude #5 (seriously, I talked to FIVE different people), quite omniously, "is to buy a new Dell."
NON! I will Dell no more! I will rise up against your oppressive fans which roast my motherboards. I will fight your 10-pound carrying weight! I will shed my person of the outdated model and get myself something NEW, sleek, sexy!
Or, in the words of my taxed out on - Christmas - DC- College Education - Father, I will be taking the clunky dinosaur from the basement, which doesn't do photos (FUCK) or iTunes (RIP MY SOUL OUT WHY DON'T YOU). "It will be sufficient," he said, like some technological scrooge.
Oh pine, my spoiled soul, for that which you loved and lost.
Donations to the "L.P. Needs a Sexy New Computer Fund" can be sent c/o TSN Front Desk. LOLZ! ;)

On the 48th day of Christmas (break)

2006-12-19T12:17:00.000-05:00

Hollllllllllllla.
K, I'm not as zesty about life as that. But it is my FAVORITE word ever, this week.
Woke up to bright sunlight and the sound of my parents laughing, a disorienting sensation, like seeing the light before you reach heaven accompanied by the melodic giggles of angels, or being tied to the train tracks by foolish demons.
Worse, though, was the scent forcing its way up my nostrils, revealing this to surely be the hellish option: roasting pork. I haven't been around a crock pot since my wee elementary school days, and as an independent 20-something, wouldn't voluntarily crock anything in a pot. The mere idea of it is repulsive, meat just sitting there, roasting in its own juices for hours and hours. The only other thing that does that is roadkill, and I'm sure that's not FDA approved.
I immediately showered, trying to rid myself of the stench. Now, mind you, my (sister's old where I now host an air mattress) room is in the same half of the house as the kitchen, but on the top floor and the south end, the furthest away from the kitchen you could get.
But even down here, now, in the basement, pork is haunting my senses. I think I shall escape into that bright sunlight and crisp fall-ish or spring-ish but not six days before Christmas air.

The pictures in this box remind me of you

2006-12-18T22:01:00.000-05:00

My parents pushed me out of my room after I returned from a summer in Connecticut. You don't need the space, they said, and we do. It was fine, really, I'd lived in three rooms since and only occupied that room for four years, so I boxed up my unnecessaries and relegated them to a corner basement closet.
A year and a half later, I'm about to move all of my personal belongings into my own space. Where is still up in the air and if you have any good trails to mid-sized dailies or glamourous publishing jobs in NYC, I'd appreciate it. Back to the point, it was time to examine a life of boxes.
The first few boxes were clothes. I didn't think it meant anything, really, to be going through my old clothes. Until I realized how many I had. I went through about 12 boxes of sweaters and jeans and shoes and spring, summer, winter, fall clothes. It was silly. I shaved it down to three major boxes - spring, summer, fall - and the rest are upstairs, but not that much. I like the sensation of shedding unnecessary baggage, and besides, they all go to the Salvation Army; it feels good to recycle and help. Much of my life before May had revolved around fashion. Maybe I spun out of that orbit in February, but didn't feel truly comfortable without it until May.
The next box was papers. The next four boxes were papers. School papers, notes, interviews. I think I saved a tree or two, with everything that went into the recycling bin. Reading some of the poorly written, yet decently graded papers was fun. It was like one of those flip books, where you see evolution in your hands.
The next was photos. Probably the hardest to deal with. Old friends, good times past, old boyfriends. Memories I didn't know I had, all piled up there waiting for me. Organizing them into books and eras was totally satisfying. I love photos, when they're good.
A box later and I'd sifted through interior "decorations." I can't wait to have my own apartment, all decorated and permanent. The hardest part will be picking a theme. Tuscan for the kitchen, to go with or maybe an excuse for my wine habit, for sure.
A life. A life, moving on, rewinding to move on easier. I love the metaphor of it.
###

Been awhile

2006-12-18T21:55:00.000-05:00

Hey there. Like an old love, I feel the familiarity inside this window, the same glow of the "edit html" and "compose" buttons. Been a while since we've been face-to-face.
Me? Oh, yeah, busy, and I didn't have Internet and now my notebook's dead ... Yeah, a rough patch.
You heard I was gone? It's true. Left for D.C. And fell in love. Heh, well, with it, and maybe someone. You never know how these things are going to turn out.
Yes, had a great time. Sort of my ideal, really, I mean, no offense, we had some great times, but, MMM, you know? That feeling when it's the one? Yeah, that was my D.C. Perfect job, perfect place to live, awesome group of friends, great guy.
I know you don't have time, now, to sit around and listen to all my yarns of seven months. Grand times, though. Parties, great food, covering the national elections -such an exciting time to be there!-, such interesting people. Real good friends; we even bar crawled in a historic neighborhood. Christmas at Rockefeller Center with the boy, we spent overnight in NYC, stayed in Bklyn. Beautiful.
So, that's me. I've been home for about a whole week and two days now, it's been okay. Took some getting used to, you know, the change in pace and living with the parents again. Can't wait for the semester to start. I'll be a secretary at TSN, and then frantically wrapping up the semester, six classes!, and looking for a job. Job, not such a scary word anymore. Scarier thinking it'll be permanent.
So, how are you?

Stars are deaf

2006-08-27T22:11:00.000-04:00

So, as a one-time HUGE Paris Hilton fan, I feel I have a right to dish on her latest album.
I'm pretty tolerant when it comes to music. Campy shit that a lot of people don't like, I can generally put up with. (London Bridge what?) But this, this is just *BAD*. It conjures up images of roller discos, SNL parodies of the 80s, an acid trip, Heidi, Kids Bop, and the Golden Girls. I'm not sure what the right term is, but it's out-of-date trash.
And Fat Joe should be ashamed to be a part of this monstrosity. This, about Fat Joe. It's that bad.

Best tracks: Heartbeat; Stars are Blind
Worst tracks: The rest

PS) Is "Screwed" actually about sex? Is she seriously talking about getting "screwed," but the dirty kind? Oh help us all.

I'm writing envelopes full of letters addressed to your heart ...

2006-08-12T20:21:00.000-04:00

Oh goodness ...

In one week, I'll be on the eve of flying back to Michigan-i-ain-ia
Terrorism & 15-hour lines at the Capitol's airport aside, I'll barely be able to sleep because I love flying; I'm really, really excited to be home and see everyone; and I'm really looking forward to a break. And drinking. With everyone.

I try to think back on what I did this summer, what I've experienced, I try to compare it to last summer, last school year, my past.

It's uncomparably amazing.

I've said this about 30,000 times, but I really feel like I belong here. I've fantasized about living in a 'big city' since I was eight years old, so this is a dream come true. The wide-eyed fancies quickly went away as I tried to look like a pro ASAP. I mean, there's so much to observe about humanity in a big city, of course, how we work together and clash and can be raw as hell or fake as shit. But at the same time, there's a lot of things about D.C. that the residents share as common loves:

+Adams Morgan - Think if all EL's bars were chocked on top of one another all up and down Grand River. Then put another of these glorious streets behind it, and you have the hottest bar scene EVER. Easy to locate, navigate, most don't have covers, in one moment you could be in DiveyMcDive bar (Millie & Al's, The Angry Inch), the next you could be in ChiChi heaven (LeftBank, Helix).
+Being somewhere important: Terror plot foiled? The nation turns here. Stem cell debate? All eyes here. Ho's in the hotel? Watergate, D.C. It's Ground Zero for (the less pretty) celebs.
+Capitol/Congress - Barack. 'Nuff said.
+Dupont Circle - One of my fave hoods. The Starbucks to see and be seen in, with floor-to-ceiling, whole-store windows. Dupont is the gay capitol outside of SanFran, so there's a lot of pretty, rich people here, a lot of good stores, great restaurants, a lot of fun. Plus I can eat in its park (I work 4 blocks from it!)
+Eastern Market - Think every fantasy you've had about an art and farmer's market and roll them up into a hot pastrami sandwich. The best lunch can be found in the market building, the coolest jewelry at the 100s of booths lined up outside it. LOVE IT. (And it has the coolest Starbucks, the closest semblance of coffeeshop culture in DC)
+Food - D.C. is such a food & Happy Hour town. Well, of course! Schmooze like whoa, so many business dinners & power lunches & get-to-know you happy hours. [That's how I met the boy!!! (happy hour).] So they've got to have excellent food and drink to fuel those venues, natch. Diversity, too! Ethiopian, Cuban, Mexican, you name it, they've got it. Gourmet burgers? Sure!
+Covering Capitol Hill - At age 21? This isn't a dream? What?
+Events - Everything from Belle & Sebestian to free concerts at the Kennedy Center to the Black Cat to the 9:30 club .... While some of the super-hot bands don't hit here (serrprize), there's still a lot lot lot of things going on each night. And the CityGuide and City Paper are there to tell you wots up. Awesome.
+Kramer Books - The venue where it's cool to be alone on a Fri/Sat night. A lot of pretty single people hit up this Dupont Circle bookstore/hotspot to get their fix of the latest current event books and Bestseller listers.
+The 'hoods - Each metro stop is basically a new neighborhood. Each one is v. diff and each has its own unique properties. That means much exploring, and you can go where suits your mood that day. You'll find a place. :)
+The Metro - while there aren't stops on every corner or even every 'hood (see: Georgetown, MINE), it's so friekin' easy to get around, it's clean becuase of a "no food no drink" policy, it's safe at night. What more could you want?
+Smithsonians/other museums/monuments - FREE!? Hello easy date or way to kill a few hours. Plus you get everything from Monet to Dinos to Dorothy. Totally sweet.
+Running into a 12-piece NO-style jazz band... because you can. Z and I were walking home from happy hour and stumbled upon an impromptu concert on the sidewalk, with about 50 people watching, dancing, and borrowing instruments themselves. BADASS!
+www.CQpolitics.com : Woot! I Love my JOB!
+Ritz Carlton - I work a block from it. To see it looming ahead each morning, you feel close to power lunches & important ppl. Hillary had her BDay party there. :)
+Georgetown - like Connecticut's richest 'hoods rolled into one small area. The best shops, with New English architecture, gorgeous rowhouses, etc etc. Great waterfront. Beautiful people. Must love. Do love.
+Tony & Joe's - Best seafood on water that's not a sea. Ergh, what? haha, T&J's is on GTown's waterfront and is DELICIOUS. The best seafood restaurant in the world.
+U Street - The hipster's paradise, but they don't know it yet. Used to be the border of the ghetto but after gentrification, the culture stayed in the shops and restaurants (BEN'S CHILI BOWL!) and the crime left. Good deal, because it's a sweet place to hang out (and I'll be living 5 blocks away in two weeks!!!)
+The Reef, The DJ - I met Z at The Reef, where he does his reggae DJ thing on Thursdays. The Reef is my fav bar in AMo, because it's 3 levels - the first looks like a jungle with a bar made to look like a river (rocks and foiliage encased in clear plastic), poles made to look like tree trunks, leopard chairs, etc. The second floor has 15 or 20 huge aquariums (100-gallon? 200?) and a huge open space around the circle bar in the center. The roofdeck is THE place to be on weekends, with hour-plus lines for a sweet spot over looking the whole AMo scene. Hot.
+Dating - So many interesting, educated men who can carry on satisfactory conversations and are attractive to boot. Boys in suits ... hot.
+The people - It's not just the men. So many people in DC now are from other places originally. So many have such interesting stories. Many, many are young. Many have sweet jobs (Treasury Dept., diplomat to Monrovia, etc). Many have travelled tons. They're good conversationalists, hard workers, pro partiers. Sophisticated, elegant, sexy.
+Blogs - WONKETTE! I'm addicted, I love it. Yay for Alex, who I'd love to meet only slightly less than the original W, AMC. DC has such a blog culture, there's a whole online network. Politics, of course, will fuel that. It also played into my new-found addiction to Myspace, like Facebook-crack for the rest of the world.
+Grocery shopping - Like going to the markets in France, you only buy what you can carry. Helps the figure, esp. with all that walking. :)
+Easy-to-figure out map system - All the streets in DC go (per quadrant) in numerical order N to S and the E to W ones go in alphabetical order, starting over as you hit "W" and go from 1 syllable, to 2 syllable, to 3 syllables. Smart-ass urban planner right there. It's impossible to get lost.
+Culture!!! Culture culture culture: The Smithsonians should cover this enough, but with all the Embassies and all the young people to stimulate the market, it's hoppin'.
+Monuments at night - Hott date
+Beautiful Southern weather - even though I almost died in monsoon-like rains, and that one week it was 110 really sucked, it's cooled down now and is utterly gorgeous ~ mid80s and lite breezes ~ and will stay this way through November. Plus once you learn how to manage it, the humidity can do wonders for your hair. :)
+The architecture: DC has a lot of beautiful buildings, from rowhouses to state of the art office buildings to the Capitol to the museums & monuments. It's brilliant.
+Random trivia - this is the hotel Nixon bugged, that's where Reagan got shot, Bush's inauguration ball was held at this museum your boy is taking to you, Lincoln's was held at your favorite
+Location, location, location: 2 hour train ride to NYC, 2 hour car ride to the beach, 2 hour car ride to the farmlands/rolling hills of WVa. Name your scene.
+Spies - DC has the highest concentration of spies in the world. And I thought Midland's plethora of Ph Ds (the highest ratio in one area in the world) was badass.

The few things that grated my chops:
- 30 minute bus rides into town (down to 7 minutes after this week!!!)
- Almost getting attacked by a bum / getting hooted.honked.leered at daily
- The utter lack of an artist scene
- WHERE IS THE BEACH? Two hours away :'(

Take me down to the Paradise City...

2006-08-10T11:46:00.000-04:00

I woke up from a super-great night and went about my usual morning in what, CNN would tell me later, was happy oblivion: shower, breakfast while reading e-mails, check the news.
Like my experience with 9-11, when I first read about the foiled terrorism plot this morning, I glanced over it and the intended impact didn’t sink in. My initial reaction was a sort of inner cheer and "Jolly good job, the Brits! Thank goodness they got on that right away and no one was hurt."
I went about my usual bus ride into work, zoning out the world of public transit thanks to myPod. I noted when a TSA agent boarded the bus but didn’t make a connection til much later.
When I got to work. I work on the second floor, split between the Politics and Homeland Security departments. Both are usually pretty quiet, but I could hear CNN blaring from each of the office TVs and there was a meeting going on. Phones were ringing non-stop.
Now, no one’s here. They’ve run off to the airport, to the Pentagon, to wherever their sources are located. That's pretty exciting, to be a reporter at the center of the biggest news story of the day, right? Totally. And especially something so glamorous as a Homeland Security reporter IN the Capitol. Pretty badass folks there.
Now, only CNN continues to blare in the background, the same alarmist, urgent reports.
Suddenly, I find myself pissed.
I’m a bit upset that yet another terrorist group decided to freak out the world and disrupt our transits. I’m a little ashamed they shocked me & made me question my lifestyle for a moment.
But what pisses me off the most is how my field, the mass media, majorly fails on big news stories like this. I finally woke out of what was -as CNN would tell me- my earlier stupor when I read the Post article at work. I didn’t realize the implications at first, sure; but after reading through the story and raising more questions and holes than I started with, it’s so blatantly obvious how the media overblows these sorts of things to gain readers -by being alarmist with an obvious agenda and massively failing their duties of "just the facts ma'am." Fails fails fails. The best example is CNN, currently beating this story to death, in what is their trademark looping, alarmist reports; in my opinion, the very thing, the pinnacle, of why people detest “the media.”
As someone who lives in a big city, reading CNN, reading the Post & the Times, I want to know that I don’t have to fear riding the bus to work. I want to know that I can ride the Metro to my friend’s barbecue Friday and not have to worry that someone holding a water bottle could be the last image I ever see. See, mass media? I can do a pretty good job of being fatalistic on my own. While it’s important to let us know what happened, you need to work on letting us know if we’re going to be okay or if we should be afraid or if there's anything we can do. Your alarmist tones & 125-pt headlines tell me I should fear something. There’s no one there to mother us and say, “it’s going to be all right.” Is that Bush’s job? Chertoff? I’m not familiar with the executive political processes, but I’m pretty sure someone needs to tell America it’s going to be okay, instead of telling us that we all almost died. And I’m not gonna get a personal phone call. That’s where you come in, Mass Media. You need to tell us who's telling us it's going to be okay.
Aside from massive disappointment at coverage …
I have to get on a plane in a week and three days. 10 days. So this line from the Post article especially jolted me: “’This wasn't supposed to happen today,’ said a U.S. official who asked not to be identified. ‘It was supposed to happen several days from now. …’"
Me: "So, what if …" Of course. Always what if. A thousand scenarios spinning like cotton candy through my head. I have to hope that as a resident of the epicenter of American power, the power players would protect themselves the most and I would benefit from this somehow.
I know that it would be silly to build a bunker and hide out for the rest of my life. If “Final Destination 2” taught us nothing else, you can’t escape death if it’s your time. So, to clarify, I’m not gonna change my lifestyle at all. It’s just a lot different thinking about terrorism when you’re not in Kansas anymore.
###
&, for fun, some of my trademark conspiracy theories:
July – 1 year after the London Bombing
August – This plot
September – 5th yr anniversary of Sept. 11
#2
Republicans are losing badly across the country. International plot to boost their power by gaining support for the War on Terror??? Or an obvious sign the War on Terror’s a blatant failure, if there’s more terrorism and British officials, not American Troops, foiled the latest plot?
#3
And, finally, if you'll notice, the airlines supposedly targeted all have country-specific labels. They are: Continental, United, British Airways and American Airlines. Northwest? Southwest? Nope. “Continental U.S.” “United States,” etc.
###

What a world.

YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST

2006-08-01T00:10:00.000-04:00

All right folks, this post is long overdue but delayed because I had to personally tell some people due to the immediate effect on their lives. For those of you I haven't told personally yet, 1,000 apologies. It's time to tell all.

YES, I am staying in Washington, D.C., until Dec. 10, 2006.
My internship was extended and I will be doing the same job, but enhanced, covering the '06 Congressional Elections, my very own two states, and spending much more time helping on Capitol Hill.
I'm doing it through the MSU Semester in DC program, so I'm taking 15 credits here, which includes working 32 hours a week (M-Th), class 2 hours Weds night, class 2 hours Friday a.m., and a final research paper. No exams, no tests, no essays, just work. Boo-to-the-yah.
It took me about a good three weeks to apply, get accepted and enroll in this program(dealing with Nancy the whole time, ahem), the only term I had for accepting the extension. I spent 3 v. distracted weeks thinking, mulling, torn over my decision. But this is the best thing for me. Even though I will miss you all more than anything. (More below.) I kept saying, if only I could transfer my friends, this wouldn't even be a decision.
I'm moving to this sweet little apartment, $200 cheaper and 25 minutes closer to work (by bus). It's five blocks walk from AMo, the bar district. My roommate is a 30-something single teacher/mom with a 10-yr-old daughter. I live on floor 2 of their house, a very typical house (as opposed to apt. bldg or townhouse or something more urban, this is what you're thinking when you usually think "house") with 3 floors in a big complex of houses that looks Spanish hacienda-style, with a gorgeous garden in the courtyard/front. But the house is gorgeous inside. Huge vaulted, cathedral ceilings in the living room, which has a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows and a fireplace. The kitchen is smallish but it has a big, lit dining room. Then upstairs, to my room, which is probably 35' by 25', v. big yes, with a desk area, a "living area" with a couch, and a queen sized bed. Five windows, my own bathroom. The daughter's room is also on floor 2, and then floor 3 is the owner's room and her and her daughter's living room (they've been renting since she was a baby and thats' the way for the two to have family space. CUTE!)
I'm subletting my apartment back in E.L., so if you know of anyone looking for shelter Aug - Dec ... wink wink! nudge nudge!!!!
I'm going to be back in town and ready to drink, er, I mean re-connect, Aug 23-Aug 28. I fly home Aug 20, and fly back to DC Aug 30. WE WILL HANG OUT WELCOME WEEK!!!! WE MUST!!!

All right kids, that's the hardest thing I've ever had to write (and I've written a lot of hard things.) Why? Because you, you reading this right now, you will be dearly dearly missed and made this the hardest life decision I've had to make in my 21 years. I was looking forward to drinking, er, reconnecting, with all of my old friends who I ditched for TSN, and now I'm just ditchin' all y'all for the pursuit of the higher career. :\ I'm hoping you know how it goes. And I'm sorry too that I just don't know how to be a lazy college bum, er, student, but I really love what I do here and the sense of purpose and fulfillment I get out of my job and this CITY, man, this city. And this is the best thing for me at this point in my life. It's harder to think about leaving in August, possibly permanently, than it is to delay my return to EL for a few months. I'll be bahck, promise. And definitely ready to live up my last semester. Let's do it!
Miss you all soooooo much and will miss you even more next semester. Can't wait to get home and hear all the tales we couldn't write about here!!! ;) You'll definitely have to keep me up to date on the fall gossip & the drama, natch. I'll still have this trusty old steed to communicate to the masses, and I'll be more devoted to updating it, since I'll be lonelier no doubt, cast aside from the mass instead of just another cast away.

Hugs & Misses,
LoJP :* MWAH!

I was never here...

2006-07-31T23:35:00.000-04:00

So Pops P. is in town for the second of 5 days of a mostly business trip, natch since he's come to D.C. about twice a month since 1986 on business. Fortunately for him, his lovely daughter is in town.
Definitely interesting to see perspectives collide. Biz traveller v. local, father v. daughter, 20-something v. 50-something.
We started out Sunday after his arrival at the Hard Rock, an old family tradition perhaps outdated but still practiced for tradition's sake. I can rock the traditions. I intro'd my dad to Yuengling, the D.C. locals' Blue Moon, if you will, but a darker ale. Good, smooth. My dad returned the apparently impressive intro by leaving out jokes about how I'm 21 now. Phew.
We moseyed over to the Ford Theatre, he'd never been, and then we went to the Int'l Spy Museum, where neither of us had been.
A few things there:
1) It's $15/ea to get in. In a city of free museums, that's steep, yo.
2) I wanted more stories. It was a lot of technical/government history, but no stories of spies (except a small room glorifying the capture of traitors & giving scant details about their original assignments & focusing instead on the brave capturers.)
3) I lost my dad in the Spy Museum. We went in at 3:30, the museum said it took about 2 hours to finish, I was in the gift shop by 6, and after I finally backtracked so far that I was convinced he was kidnapped, it was discovered after he finally picked up his Treo that he was an hour behind me. I watched the final movie (11 minutes) twice and then again with him and then went and played with nearly all the gift shop's cheap gadget souvenirs before he finally caught up.
Then, the big question:
Where do we get drinks?
We were going to my dad's fave restaurant Monday, so he was like, show me some of your local stations. Mind you, my dad was wearing Nantucket-ready polos & carrying a Treo in the Capitol of businessmen.
The situation was only comparable to your dad asking to go to Rick's, but you thinking of the quickest way to impress him and save him from disease-ridden glasses.
I finally decided on The Reef, which has a roofdeck with a good view and is where my boss likes to go for Happy Hours. I figured that was a safe bet on a Sunday, even if it is in the heart of the bar district & is one of the most popular Fri/Sat locations. At least my dad could see some of AMo, plus they have an exotic-but-reasonable dinner menu. It was funny, though, because my DJ DJs there on Thurs' and that's where I met him, so of course I slipped and was like, "Oh this is where Z DJs" and my dad's like, who's Z? Yeah, a friend.
So we get there and I'm like "Hey Ralphie, Hey Jones," to the bouncers (ID checkers, w/e) and praying the owner wasn't in because he's tight with my crew. A few eyebrows from my dad but nothing much. It was totally weird though.
My dad accidentally ordered a Bison Dog - yeah, bison hot dog. YUMMY. Not. It was more like a Jerky Dog. But then again who orders a hot dog at a restaurant that specializes in Pasta, Asparagus soup and Fish tacos?
Dinner was good and it was just cool enough to bear being outside (expect a post by week's end about this 110-degree heat, how I hate D.C. weathermen and how to not dress slutty on your way to work in case you run into your boss [happened to a co-worker, not me, promise!].)
So then my dad walks me to the bus. I looked him square in the eye and I was like, "Look Dad, I'm probably going to get some shit on the walk. DON'T DO ANYTHING."
My dad was like, what? And before I could explain, a greasy working-class dude walked by and was like, "Mmm mmm baby, how you doin?"
My poor dad. Hahah. I mean, he's seen D.C.'s bums, he was there in the murder Capitol days, but he's never been around the city with his poor young daughter who's on the mean streets alone. Watching his reaction was pretty funny, until it turned into a litany of lectures on safety, met with complacent replies about, "I KNOWWWW." Then it was time for him to drop me off at the bus stop, something he hasn't done since my first day of school (always at work before I was even on the bus, what a guy!) and when the bus full of working-class, ethnic minorities, old women and roughnecks pulled up, he looked a little queasy but didn't say anything except, "Be careful."
I'd never considered the walk to the bus stop from AMo dangerous. The bus is a twice-a-day-at-least occurrence that's the safest route of transportation, thanks to the presence of the driver and the v. public routes it drives. Guys give you shit, you push the iPod phones in a little harder and keep on walking. Guys walk up to you and ask you for a cigarette, you keep on walking. You don't walk alone at night, you don't walk down Euclid past 6 p.m., you don't go east of 16th. Street smarts. Never knew they were anything but daily living 'til Capt. Suburbs & Daddy-o came to town to remind me how different my life really was. Grittier, rougher, but yet somehow so much more exciting and glamourous. Can't get the good without the bad, natch.
So we went from gritty to glam at my dad's biz dinner Monday night. My dad's been all over the world, with an itinerary that might make an Int'l Spy jealous, but he swears his fave restaurant is Tony & Joe's on the waterfront in Georgetown, and find him a better meal than my mom's Polish Sausage or T & J's Crabcakes w/New England Clam Chowder, and he'd give you a firm handshake.
I've been to T&J's once, as an unappreciative 8th grader who got the fish & chips, no doubt.
This time it was all about the Broiled Seafood Platter: two each of scallops, shrimp, a slice of fish & a crabcake. Whoo doggies! Ain't nothin' better than seafood on the waterfront of the richest neighborhood in the country.
My dad's biz dinner was boring, natch, except when his co-worker (okay, v. high-up VP-level boss-type) that I knew from 6 yrs back when she lived in MTown, asked me if I've had crabs.
Friends, y'all know me. Y'all know sister can't take a hint of potential perversion without expounding on it til it's weary. But a business dinner with the high-ups at the nicest restaurant in the nicest 'hood? Awwwwwwww shit.
I did.
I gave her the drop-jaw, boggle-eyed, "Excuse me?"
She realized what the heck I was talking about, about the same time I realized what the heck she was talking about.
We both collapsed into a fit of schoolgirl laughter (thank GOD, I might note in hindsight.)
My dad sort of tittered and asked what was going on. He gave me a stern "What did you do" glare like I'd dropped a cracker or talked with my mouth full. But all was well, until.
Until the German woman who was with us said in her very thick accent, "I don't get it."
And Katie, the original inquisitor, said, "YOu know, Crabs, an infestation OF. THE. PUBIC. HAIR." (emphasis added by editor.)
I melted 8000 times and turned 43 shades of purple (6 of which never before existed in any palette on Earth) as Katie brought to reality what just happened. My dad said, "Yeah, I guess you don't ask that to a college kid," I jumped off the pier, everyone laughed with a tinge of memory of their own 1970s college days, and all was well again.
OH, shit son. I did. And I lived to tell about it.
But, as I said, it's been interesting to see the two worlds collide.

This profile is set to private...

2006-07-31T23:18:00.000-04:00

Yo, NBC, Parents against Pervs and all you other "Over-protective, slightly abusive parents hiding behind lobbying and hype to distract from the fact we ourselves are sheltered from any perception of the realities of this cruel, harsh world" organizations:
LISTEN UP.
You're fucking up my life.
Yeah, I said it. You're screwing up the life of one twenty-something kid. Oh, that's not what you meant to do? You want to "protect" the little ones, eh? Well I'm a little one and I say, "CUT IT OUT!"
Since you started bitching about Myspace, turning it into a scapegoat for the world's problems instead of celebrating the fact that your child actually has friends, you've been seriously throwing my world out of whack.
Since Myspace got the heat and started immediately putting in all these "new security measures" to stop the "Bad PR!" machine that is y'all (instead of just shoving a sock stuffed with the first amendment down ya damn throat like they should have), they've been fucking up their servers. Myspace is slow, it doesn't send me e-mail alerts when I get messages or comments, sometimes I CAN'T LOG IN!?!
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS DOES TO ME?
It makes me afraid, lonely and shrivelled in an office cubicle somewhere out there in Real World, USA. I DON'T LIKE FEELING LIKE THAT!
Give me my comments, my friend requests, my messages. Give me the childish pleasures of stalking my friends' profiles and realizing I don't know half of their deepest, darkest interests; let me delve into search engines for the beautiful boy on the bus I'll never talk to but will definitely anonymously request (or stop staring at once I read that he's ... you guessed it ... "gay.")
Let me see the new artists, my friends' new backgrounds, and the new boys they're dating - in a timely, fluid fashion, PLEASE!
Maybe if you spent more time with your kid - you know, family dinner, ice cream outing, movie nights - and put the computer in a main room instead of placating their "need for attention" with one in their room (out of your sight, natch); instead of organizing mass e-mailings and press releases, pay some damn attention to your child like a good parent so you know who they're talking to and so *MY*space doesn't have to play parent to all y'all and could just let me update my profile to reflect my new-found interest in Chocolate Covered Raisins!!!!!!!!!
Gawsh.
I feel a little better. Now, IF ONLY MYSPACE COULD FIND THE SERVER.

Can I just say something?

2006-07-20T01:27:00.001-04:00

The past six days of my life have been the best almost-week I have ever had.
If you couldn't tell, I flippin' love D.C. with all my heart & most definitely want this. So writing a blog feels more like I'm writing about my life than about my internship, hence the different feel to it than last summers'. But the past days have been the best possible illustration of life in D.C. and why I love it.
I will get into further detail, but Monday and Tuesday I spent on Capitol Hill, co-reporting the Senate stem cell debate with just one other reporter. My quote from Barack was the end quote for the front page centerpiece.
I filed from both the Senate & the House Press Galleries, between the NYT, WP, WSJ, AP, Reuters, etc. reporters. The AP guy let me sit in his seat in the balcony (There are only two assigned seats in the whole press section, one for Reuters, one for AP) for some of the debate. At one point, I ordered pizza for Beth & I and I had to say "oh yeah, deliver to the Capitol House side security door." And I was eating it on the 3rd fl of the Capitol overlooking DC & sunset & ... ahhhhh. SO. COOL.
Barack? You ask. Yes, Barack. Barack (stood v. close & winked at me at the end of the interview. gorgeous eyes/smile), Kennedy (great eye contact), Frist (YES!), Hillary (shorter than I expected, VERY blue eyes), Levin (super nice), Warner, Specter, McCain (touched my leg), Mary Tyler Moore. Yeah, even her. She had a press conference w/Frist. On the House side, Boehner walked by, Murtha, Jefferson.
The only two I didn't make contact that I really wanted to were Hastert (he's always hiding in secret hallways and such) and I didn't interview Kerry. Kerry walked by but he's so tall and so famous that my stomach couldn't handle it. That's okay. In fact, the *first* time a Senator walked by me, I was *alone* leaning against a pillar waiting for another Senator when frieking Obama *RECALL, this is the one that I said, even back during school, that if I met I would faint* walked out of the elevator directly in front of me. I did an obvious jaw-drop/eyes bulge and just stared. He looked me right in the eyes and said "Hi!" like we were old pals. He said hi to me. He must have thought I was with a foreign news service because I said something like "Abuhhh" and drooled. I ran upstairs and was holding back tears on the way because I didn't ask him a question. Beth, the other reporter, thought it was the cutest thing ever and said it was definitely okay. I felt like a failure.
When I actually had to interview Obama later during this thing called a Senate Lunch where reporters stake out the only entrance into the lunch room, those elevators, & you have to talk to every Senator you can, I went up to him and said, "Senator, Lauren Y w/XX. About stem cells..." and he said, "Oh, hi, how are you?" like we talked everyday & he might have said "kiddo." I like, reeled a bit & held back from, idk, fainting? haha. All business. But damn. I can get into more specifics about the experience (there's so much!) but I'm pretty tired. I worked M 9 a.m. - 10 p.m. (and marble floors SUCK on your feet) and T 10 a.m. - 11 p.m. & just got back from a night out with the boy. Capitol reporting = f*ing badass.
There's a boy (there's always boys, aren't there?) This one makes me v. happy. The DJ was fun but he's older and I'm temp. This new boy, an engineering intern who works for the Government, grew up in Mexico and now lives in El Paso but his parents are originally from Germany and he has blonde hair and green eyes and he's a rock climber with Euro fashion sense & a prominent Spanish accent. Extremely hot. But for some v. strange reason he's also extremely nice and personable and funny. Uhmmmm. Yes. He's great. Sunrise at Lincoln Memorial after an (innocent!) night out, anyone?
So there's him & work and this weekend there was work happy hour and a bbq for my friends bday and then the bar and then Lincoln & Otto and then dinner & I'm your man with good friends. So busy. That's the city, man. Always something to do and someone to meet. Always. Since everyone's a transplant they're friendly and open to meeting new people and they're young so there's so much energy and, and yeah. This is it for me, dude. The life.
& my internship has been going extremely well. I'm enterprising a lot and helping with various projects. I frieking love my job as is but this new opportunity was the shit. And I met a lot of people when I was on the Hill who work "on the Fifth Floor," as they say here, where I want to work someday. (most of them file from the Press galleries since they're up there so much & only come to the office Mon or Fri.)
Basically, I want this life. I want to be working in the press gallery and covering important issues and living in D.C. and dating a fabulous guy & shopping at H&M and Whole Foods and cabbing or Metroing or footing it to roofdeck parties or AMo or the U or Capitol South or whatever. See free movies and concerts and galleries and shows at the 9:30 and Madam's Organ every night of the week, any time you want. Sneak off like my rmmt did last week to a 2:15 movie at the classic movie house and say you were at the dentist's instead. Whatever. Five years, eight months, whatever. I know they say internships are all about experience. Whow. What an understatement.
I absolutely have a lifestyle to aspire to.

Open letter to the scene

2006-07-15T11:49:00.001-04:00

Dear D.C.,
Mon amour. You & I, we're having some great times. I flippantly took a risk and accepted an invitation to join you. At first I was a little wary. A lot of your friends are politicians and such and well, I read People and own Paris Hilton's book in my free time.
But I enjoyed your warm, open, friendly personality, your bums, your good food & great bar scene. We fit together well.
It's been a great relationship. You know some great nightlife hotspots. You've got cavalcades of friends to hang with at any point.
But there's a thing. It's small. Tiny, really. Not as bad as that I still don't like how you or most of your friends dress. But we agreed to disagree on that point because I can't change people & don't want to turn into a raving nag screaming on the corner. I see enough of those per week.
Here's the thing, sweetie. Your coffeehouses.
Your "coolest" coffeehouse is a milky, soy-based excuse for a scene, where no one's listening to headphones or creating and they serve as much alcohol as lattes. It's got great decorations but it is NOT a coffeehouse.
There are a million Starbucks. UGH. And just as many Cosis and Caribou Coffees. That's all fine and well, I loves me a good grande mocha frappuccino no whip. But there's no scene there. People who go there are the same people who make me want to take them to the nearest Salvation Army and make them strip immediately.
D.C., give me your tired, your poor, your hip, your cigarettes and torn jeans. Give me the artists, the creators, the anti-socials who don't give a flip if you're painting the Mona Lisa or pulling out a book. At a coffeeshop! Who would have thought?
Please, try to cough up something from your bowels. I like U Street well enough, love it in fact. But there's not a lot of traffic there and so it's not buzzing with artists. Mostly just people reading - I KNOW - the paper.
I'd really appreciate, k schnookums?
Love ya babes! See ya at dinner tonight! Kisses ~
LP

Cutting room floor

2006-07-12T00:34:00.000-04:00

HI!
So much to catch y'all up on, bear with the pieces as they come (in new, reversed order!)
#
1st - SORRY to anyone who I had fully named in my links. Fabu-Melissa brought that to my attention and I can't believe I didn't catch that :P
#
Today my 65 y.o. rmmt Babe got a letter from a funeral home, and she wrote on it, "RETURN TO SENDER, I'M NOT DEAD YET, SUCKERS!"
I love my rmmts.
#
Tonight I rode home in a cab from THE WEAKERTHANS AT 9:30 (see below) and my cab driver had 2 B.S. degrees, a Master's and a Divinity degree. SAY WHAT? He guest lectures all over the world (originally from Nigeria), he's a minister, he has written 3 academic books, and is starting a US branch of his father's construction company that started in Nigeria. He showed me one of his books and it was legit and had his credentials in the bio info. RIDIC! He was so cool, and he totally drives a cab just on the side when he's not travelling, just kept it up since he started way back when to pay for his undergrad, just because he likes to meet people and help them if they need it. Apparently a good tool to minister if needed. Rock. But he wasn't one of those like, Confessional Cabbies. Just Conversational Coolcat.
#
THE WEAKERTHANS AT 9:30!!! WITH THE NEW AMSTERDAMS!!! JUMP UP AND DOWN!!! ROCK!
Okay hi. I haven't been to a real concert in a (too) long time and I was determined to get to the WT since I've been listening to them since C.Baker in HS and I'd never even heard of their concert dates. Plus I needed an excuse to check out 9:30 Club. Best of both worlds, right.
9:30 is sweet. It's so comfortable, like I'm in my living room. It's a huge vaulted space with three levels. You can see the stage from anywhere in the room. Awesome sound system. There's what, 5 bars around the place. It was a super-great venue. Great place to meet people, too. Not too loud. I abso need to go back. It'd be perfect for a Tori show, or the Sounds. But I'm down to just go to a new band's show, just to get back.
The WT's were totally cute, I <3 the lead singer, he's so like, I just want to pinch his cheeks. They sounded great live, there was more energy in their performance because they were live. Fabulous.
The New Amsterdams are good chill music. Gotta check them!
#
Okay maybe I'm becoming hardened, but 9:30 is on V & 9. The rumor is that the ghetto is like, north of U street and East of 8th. So this club is supposedly on the cornerstone of the ghetto. However, the walk up my fave U Street was totally safe and there were plenty of emo friendly kids walking around, not a bunch of hooligans. No hooligans, that I saw. No one was ducking imm. into cabs or rushing the few blocks to the Metro after the show. Thank God, because I was jonesing for some Ben's and was happy to walk down U to the Chili Bowl (my Jumbo Slice - esque late night guilty pleasure; shhhh.) Rocked out to some Supremes with some other kids from the show before peacing out.

Fabulous life.
#
And, finally, a political humor quote. From a Congressional Candidate's press release:
'I believe the bar was set with [Past CMan JQ] and has been continued with [Current CMan BJ} that you've got to be able to put your hands on your congressman," said [the PR'd candidate], one of a number of Republicans seeking [BJ's] seat.'

Snuggles and misses,
~LP

Read this on the toilet: you will piss your pants

2006-07-10T21:41:00.000-04:00

So, there I am at a house party Sat. night, talking to a ton of cool people, bumpin' along to a sweet DJ.

Sunday A.M., Matt from the house party requests me as a friend on Myspace (I've been big into Myspace lately, it's DC's Facebook.) He's totally indie rock cute and as I can recall through the beer haze of the morning, we had a good time chatting so I message him (he added me but no message, HATE THAT) being all like, hey, ur cool, nice meeting you, give me a call if you know of future cool house parties, here's my number. The usual Myspace flirtiness ~

So cute Matt from house party messages me back,
"Well, for a few minutes I pondered going along with you and pretending to have been the same Matt you met at the party. However, I did not attend any house parties that weekend, I spent the weekend at the bar watching soccer and drinking.

So yeah, Lauren don't feel bad about giving a stranger your number, I've only given it out to about a dozen vagrants in Logan circle, written it across the mens room mirror of a burger king in Wheaton and plastered it all over craigslist in a spicey W4M sonet.

- Matt"

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA. Oh. God. :)

Seriously. I haven't stopped laughing.
(But I've totally learned my lesson: >Give out your number *after* you're for sure who the fuck you're talking to.<)

~Cheers!

Very superstitious

2006-07-08T12:57:00.000-04:00

It's my fav. holiday after Christmas, so it was only right that I spent my Fourth of July holiday indulging in the most tourist-y, 4th-in-DC things you could think of: hit up the National Mall early to catch the - yes - parade. Then followed up the American culture theme with a trip to the newly-reopened SAAM/NGA. I think it's my new fave DC museum. The Lunder Conservation center is one of the coolest/most innovative museum features I've ever come across. Definitely have to go back there.
Caught all of the ITA/GER overtime at an Irish pub in Chinatown - wait, no, I caught half of the OT. Get this: the huge flash t'storm that hit mid-P.M. killed the satellite on the whole street for about 10 minutes. I thought we were going to have a riot; the bar was full of major fans, I've never heard a roar that loud and I go to a Big Ten (that gets upset a lot.) Intense. So ITA beats GER and I resolve never to watch World Cup again, on the principle that if ITA can make it to the final over Brazil I can live without soccer. Tear.
Then I hit up the PBS concert on the Capitol lawn, because I absolutely had to see Stevie Wonder live. Come again? Yes, folks, Stevie Wonder concert, Live. PBS - right right - but it totally wasn't that bad! I sat next to an entertaining young couple and another intern there alone so we sort of chilled and that was good. The concert was equal parts hokey and brilliant. I can officially say I've seen JoJo live in concert ~ twice (gag) and there was Michael Bolton (yes! ahhh) & even Elmo made quite a showing (I don't think I've laughed harder in a while, just at the ridiculousness. He came out singing "Ridin' my tricycle, ridin' my tricycle, singing a song" ... )
But to make up for it, Jason Alexander was the host, Vanessa Williams sang my all-time fave childhood Disney song and a few others, and Cuba Gooding, Jr. intro'd Stevie, who played an entire set, through the beginning of the fireworks. He was unbelievably sweet and everyone ended up grooving in front of the Capitol. And then the NSO played "1812" ... It was excellent. The fireworks were just HUGE, you could see them from anywhere in D.C. practically, I had friends watching in AMo and Alexandria etc etc. They were shorter than I would have expected - I mean, this is the nation's birthday and we're in the nation's Capitol - but they were still very, very extravagant.
Arguably one of the best 4ths eva!

When you tell 'em my name, from here to Birmingham I've got a few friends

2006-06-29T21:57:00.000-04:00

In honor of my, yes: humanity, I'm dedicating this post to the past week. It's not a sympathy plea (I've solicited enough of that). It's an ode to a humbling shitfest. :)
Y'all ever been in a funk? Where easy, normal things are the world's most aggravating?
I blame its origins in the rain. The rain, the rain! What a mindset. After a hard week's work indoors, you don't want a soggy weekend. You want bright, crisp sunlight; refreshing and rejuvenating adventure weather. Wet concrete is as energizing as a dirty old shammy you'd use to wipe bugdip off your car.
The weekend was totally fun. Happy hour -turned-party this weekend, talking to lots of ppl from home/MSU, hitting up Kramer's, U Street, etc.
But Monday it started. A little social earthquake there: a delayed e-mail.
By Wednesday night it was a clusterfuck of emotion ending, defeatedly, at a bar ... alone. It was happy hour and still daylight and two blocks from work (where I watched the Pistons playoffs!) - safe. Breathe. I was determined to just meet new people and shake off the past three days with cheap Yuengling. I didn't meet anyone new (the venue) except the modelish, unfairly hot bartender who kept "Unsexy" by Alanis looping through my head ("I feel so unsexy [to] someone so beautiful"). During this classic.movie-bar.scene, I reconnected with the value of best friends that know you beyond explanation ... which a 15 hour car trip away can be difficult to grapple with. For the sake of my audience (who can undoubtly empathize) I'll digress.
The catalyst was nothing big in the grand scheme of anything ever. A simple delayed e-mail. That turned into an awkward phone call and cancelled plans. Two completely human pieces of communique that overshadowed an entire week's worth of cool things: hearing from Laura, Clarissa, plotting w/a fav. redhead to take over the world, reporting from the Capitol, getting to talk to RI's gov, lt. gov and 2 other Congressmen.
The problems are smoothed over, a mere 72 hours after they started. Back to square one, they can be ignored. Plans were reset for this weekend and it'll go from there. Thanks for your worries, as in most odes that look back, it's all good now.
In reflecting, though, I'm just floored that it disrupted the rest of the week so much. I've gotten comfortable in a life without drama (real, real comfortable ;}) and it's like I've become a bit less elastic to social interruptions.
How does one solve this?
Well, go out to Happy Hour with some friends, get $2 Coronas (UNHEARD OF IN DC!!!!), bullshit, come home and make samosas while talking to your best friend. Eat them while listening to some classic, favorite music.
Plan out the next week and a half. Ponder volunteer work.
Live, enhance your life, smile.
If it wasn't for this post, these little earthquakes could easily be forever forgotten in the shadow of much more important history; lessons learned, feelings smoothed, lives continue: a little smarter, a little wiser, a little calmer.
Peace, love, and misses ~

Thoughts to dry off to...

2006-06-29T12:51:00.000-04:00

The rain's broken, fiiiinally. No damages sustained here. Lots of clusterfucking in the greater metropolis: delayed buses, people who don't know how to deal with umbrellas, pissed off public service workers. The usual.
I bought some sweet new shades Tuesday night (broke my sweetest old ones in a related hilarious drinking mishap), in hopes they'd be a talisman of sorts. They were. I'm just praying I can rock them the whole four-day weekend I have coming up. Yeah, CQ pretends news stops. Sweeeeet. More time to explore this wondrous metropolis. And the 4th in our nation's capitol!? BRILLIANT. I mean, partayyy.
But first: a bit of material for your ponderance
http://www.readexpress.com/read_freeride/2006/06/20_bill_is_now_missing_something.php
Click it!
Peace & misses,
LP

The Weather Philosophy

2006-06-25T21:27:00.000-04:00

I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I DON'T WANT TO DIE.
Omg omg omg - singular thoughts, running through my brain as bare feet guide through inches of rain water.
I didn't want to slip so in haste I ripped off my flip flops as soon as my feet hit sidewalk. Health risks cast aside ~ feet can be washed, if they're not broken.
I didn't want to get wet(tter) so I used an umbrella. Thunder cracked mere yards above my head, lightening landed all around me. I've never been so immersed in a thunderstorm.
I'm lucky: the rear of my kitchen is a "greenhouse" - the last 15 feet are encased in glass, which reaches up into the ceiling. You can sit well under it and feel a part of these huge thunderstorms that DC's cooked up recently (and sadly. I love tanning in the summer.) That vantage point, of course, lacks the risk of lightening striking you dead.
I'd hate to die, alone, tragically, in the middle of a rainstorm by a freak chance of a lightening strike.
In antithesis to that, the weather does bring people together in this city.
You can sense when a thunderstorm is coming in the District, because there's a rare, cool breeze. And you can see the clouds on the horizon, billowing up, much darker than the other grey ones. DC lays it all out there when it comes to storms.
I just happened to be walking to the bus stop, headed home after my new U St. hangout, the Mocha Hut, closed shop for the night.
I knew it was going to rain within minutes.
In fact, I could hear the rain pattering across 16th street, headed my way, as I dashed for the bus stop a few feet ahead, just across U street.
I literally skidded under the sparse covering of the bus stop hut as the rain hit it.
An older gentleman waiting for the same bus commented on the weather as old gentleman often do, and we dissected the pros and cons of the current storm.
"It was supposed to rain all weekend, only when I make it out does it"
"I know, I cancelled outdoor plans"
"Those weathermen - makes you wonder what they get paid for"
And so on. He was a jovial fellow. Not in my demographic as I search for connections in the big city, but pleasant to converse with.
As we boarded the bus, the first passengers to come on wet, we evoked comments from a few others sitting around us - a middle-aged professor-type, an young 30s mother with some grocery bags, the bus driver.
"It's a big one."
"I wish I knew how to convert [the measurements] for Noah's Ark ... geez."
"Only when I make it out ..."
And so on.
But as the rain picked up - causing flooding and rapids-like effects past us down the hill that is 16th street - we all got a little bit closer. If it was bad enough, the bus could stop and we could be together for a very long time.
Fortunately I got off before that happened. I live towards the top of the hill, so I didn't have to contend with any rapids-like streams, but I did have to deal with lightening: the storm was literally over my house. I dodged around, thinking that zig-zagging as advised when being chased by an alligator (a similar dangerous and unbeatable force of nature) and thrusting my umbrella towards the ground every time the sky lit up would lessen my chances of being hit. I missed my bus family; their brief camaraderie in the face of this terrible, uncontrollable force of nature made the prospect of dying alone on the street of a freak lightening strike that much more painful.
I have to go now, turn my computer off before the 1920s wiring in this house cooks it b/c of a power outage.
Love you ~

Snap Judgment

2006-06-24T16:46:00.000-04:00

Paris Hilton's new song, "Stars are Blind," is not terrible!!!
I'm shocked.
In fact, the worst thing about it all is watching her in the video.
Her sound is a bit Gwen/Pink with a drop of L.Lohan. Not a bad voice. I even like the reggae beat behind it. It's totally pop but I don't want to tear my eardrums out.
I give it ** of **** ~ wouldn't download it, but wouldn't kill myself if it played at a club.

ohmagaw

2006-06-24T11:40:00.000-04:00

Even I'm starting to think I need to stop.
Monday: Helen Thomas
Tuesday: Salsa night w/Zach, only slightly awkward since I'm like, a year rusty. Fabulous tapas, a great barkeep/owner, and excellent mojitos.
Wednesday: Headache. A little bit. Lunch with co-workers, attempt to look alive. Two hour phone w/CH. Sleep for ... ever. Break so necessary.
Thursday: Bar-hopping with my boss and some co-workers. Arlington, VA, Georgetown, AMo. All media-related happy hours. Met some damn cool cats. The media ppl were all fun but my fave was a BF who was the financial diplomat to Monrovia. The kid was 26 and looked like Joe MSU. He has such a badass (but dangerous) job - he lives in his own house @ the embassy compound, when he's working -to or from the office - he gets escorted everywhere by a security detail. It's cheap to go out and they have a decent scene, which is safe enough that the diplomats can be out. Again: the people you don't meet in D.C. Happy sigh :)
Friday: Another happy hour - turned - OMG what? evening. Started at the Brickskeller with last semester's intern-now-co/worker and his roommate, also my boss, and our sr. politics reporter. The Brickskeller has 1,032 types of beer. As of Friday. It was sweet. Lots of diff countries represented, too. I had the Miller Lite of Russian beers (duped by the waiter's suggestion after they were out of Polish beer), an Italian Moretti, and an extremely hoppy beer called "Rogue Love and Hoppiness." I don't like hoppy beer.
After a significant buzz (mind you, we'd only been out for 1.5 hrs at this point & still hadn't eaten since lunch), Mark, the i-n-c/w, and Adam, the rmmt, taxi'd up to AMo, where I managed to hit Mark square in the elbow with the taxi door. Dumb.ass. It was funny since we were all ... hoppy. ;)
We met up with Zach, Donald and Annu (sry about the sp!) at TomTom, which someone else said was a "breeder" bar, conjuring up dirty images per the Shark or Rick's. It actually has a sweet interior. Clean. Red walls. Front was all open - the floor to ceiling windows were like patio doors and slid into the wall. It was a nice night, not terribly humid or hot. TomTom was dead, so after 2 more beers we went to Felix per Adam's suggestion. Unh, the scene was also dead. AMo doesn't heat up til 10ish, like State. But we chilled. I inadvertently caused a dance party when they played Shakira. Well, I'm blaming Zach, who knows my obsession and started "salsa dancing" to it. It was so cute I couldn't resist joining & there was 5 guys and I, in the middle of this chic bar, dancing like idiots to everything from Shakira, Fi'ty, Michael Jackson, reggae... the DJ was a little eclectic. Other people started dancing after that, which made it feel like we contributed to society. Hahaha.
All right, at this point I forget how many beers we were in but somehow someone ordered me a vodka/RedBull - children, I said I like them per a convo about my inexperience with ordering creatively. I didn't say I wanted one. That killed me since I hadn't eaten and was mixing alcohols, so we were home by like, 11:30. Totally fun night, totally fun life. Must <3 D.C.
Next Tuesday, Thursday and another weekday night, more plans. Next weekend, Smithsonian Folklife w/Zach, who wants to work in museums and is really into anthropology.
Work is going fabulously. I know, I know, why I'm here, right? Hahah. It was really slow in the beginning of the week so I did that overachieving intern thing and got myself 7 stories to work on in the next week or two so now I'm really really busy. Published a number of them this week ~ www.cqpolitics.com, just search for my name or scroll down.
Peace out lovas

Top Dog

2006-06-19T22:41:00.000-04:00

I was going to get there. I've spent hours mentally preparing for this. I would have had to been run over with a bus to be stopped. Or drowned.
Oh, wait.
I emerge from the Metro and whabamn, there it is: pouring down cats-and-dogs rain. The recent drought in D.C. was probably over, but I was quickly shrivelling up and dying inside. This can not be happening. I am GOING to GET THERE. I MUST. This is IT.
There was a clock. Positioned perfectly in my view, across the street, just under the overhang. Perfectly, or torturously. I left an hour early. Good move. I had 30 precious minutes to go and every lost minute was a waste.
The overhang was crowded with people and smelled like wet cloth, concrete, and worms. Each eye intent on darting out.
But there was no way out.
Lightening ripped across the sky, thunder immediately overhead.
Finally, a mass of people ran for it.
I went.
Splashed into a small puddle, and then of course stepped flat into a puddle, gross street water washing all over my shoe.
Fuck!
No time to stop, scurry across the street, manuever through puddles, three blocks, omg, a cab, move cab, wait - why not a cab? $2 a block, that's why. Go, go, in! OMG - IN.
Thank you.
Every wasted minute meant another seat full. Seventh row. Fuck again. One seat. Of course next to a snobby type, but someone who knows the truth can see through to the books on the wall behind you.
I read it, and reread it, and rewrote it. Manic about it, really. She would know. She could probably taste misstep.
Helen Thomas. In the flesh. Standing, speaking, advising, leading. Seven rows away.
I almost froze.
Almost.
Not enough to stop from asking the question, perfectly, one of only a few allowed.
Brilliant.
She is. The night was. The experience.
Brilliant.

The Boys on the Bus: A (shoddy) book review

2006-06-16T22:30:00.000-04:00

After weeks of hunting in Michigan, I finally found The Boys on the Bus in Kramerbooks, the majority bestseller/political(dur) -themed popular DC bookstore.
Timothy Crouse takes readers along on the buses and planes of the 1972 presidential campaigns. A better way to put it is, the book is a sober version of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Crouse was assigned, also by Rolling Stone, to cover the media on the trail.
The book is an insider's peek, so Crouse jumps right into the story. No introductions or background on how he or anyone else got there. You get some biographies for key characters, but most not until a good 50 pages in. And sometimes they're vague, which is frustrating as you try to set up the scene he's discussing.
At the same time, Crouse is a good storyteller and has a journalist's eye for detail. Plus he knows what the people reading it -journalists- are looking for. There's stories of drinks and drugs and politics and manuevering. There's also great information about how candidates would flip out and press people would get frustrated and Crouse is candid in admitting that more often than not, the juicy stuff would go unreported.
The lifestyle presented in the book is one anyone who's worked in the biz can commiserate with: long hours, competition, editors in the Ivory Tower, drinking, tight-lipped pols.
It's also a good look at some great reporters: Johnny Apple, David Broder, Helen Thomas, etc etc etc.
And reading it in the context of Washington 32 years later, it's interesting to see the parallels and astounding number of similarities between politics and the media then and now.
For a budding journalist, it's an inspiring, if not absolutely necessary, read. Find it, immediately.

Why headlines are oh-so-important

2006-06-16T12:48:00.000-04:00

Dear CNN,
I didn't realize that Africa allowed gay marriage!
"Men pack boats, leaving towns without husbands"
link: http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/06/16/africa.nohusbands.ap/index.html
(They saved it on the inside. 1st headline on homepage.)

Going organic

2006-06-15T19:56:00.000-04:00

Why?
That was the question on loop as I watched the 20/20 interview with John Mackey, Whole Foods Market founder.
Whole Foods is the Meijer of organic food and D.C. Every fourth person here has a Whole Foods bag. I'd been familiar with organic food for more than a year, I just never bought any ~ detouring to Meijer's because I automatically assumed it was cheaper. Its popularity and size doesn't necessarily make it cheaper, but finally standing in the middle of the cereal aisle where prices and sales were comparable to any other grocery store I'd been in, I wasn't as convinced that organic wasn't worth it.
Is it necessarily healthier? Well, my great uncle doesn't eat orgo and he's 92. But since the store offers a wide variety of healthy options - marketing sunflower seeds over potato chips - it's hard not to buy healthy and watch labels. And since some organic things are still outrageously costly, like peppers at $4.50/lb, you buy less.
As I sit munching on $30 worth of groceries, comparable to a typical week at Safeway or Meijer, nothing tastes bad yet and my doubt is dissipating; I am still holding out hope for the soupy-looking peanut butter.
Why organic? It's a social awareness thing. Like giving blood, volunteering, holding a door open. It's helping someone. Even if it's not tangible and it's taking something out of your pocket, the nebulous fulfillment almost makes it worth it.

Tonight's top story ... a full recovery.

2006-06-13T22:40:00.000-04:00

Scene: Babe (my DC surrogate mom/housemate) has been out of town for five days @ a grandrelative's graduation. I come home this day-o-her-return to a steamy kitchen full of food and drink, with Brock and Babe conducting the evening.
"Pull up a dish!!" is the urgent welcome.
It's vegetarian bbq night @ the '06 pad (the last 2#'s of the addy) and we're all invited. Dinner together is not a typical thing (mismatched sched's) but Brock's had a long week of Treas Dept project-ing, I've had a long week of election-ing, Babe's had a long week of traveling and we're all home chilling tonight.
The cure: Basically, throw together whatever veggies in the fridge and freezer into some sort of salad/casserole/side dish.
Mine: Asparagus/Pea Salad.
To make: Boil water. Cut up asparagus into bite-size chunks. Put asparagus and frozen peas in boiling water. Reboil, turn down heat, cover, steam 5 minutes. Drain, rinse with cool water. Put asparagus/peas in bowl and refrigerate. Cut up green peppers into same size as asparagus. Cut up slivers of green onion. Mix in with peas and asparagus. Throw fat-free Italian dressing (or homemade olive oil/vinegar/basil/oregano/pepper mix) and parmesan cheese on top (or not to stick with vegan autheniticity, you decide). Ideally, refrigerate for 4 hours so it's all cool and crisp. The different textures and tangy dressing make this all-green salad supercool for summer.
Other courses: Chickpea salad; roasted red, yellow and green pepper halves; leafy Caesar salad; steamed peapods/onions/carrots/broccoli/potatoes.
Enjoy: out on the patio, drinking chilled chardonnay while watching the sun set and the fireflies light up. Follow up with s'mores (booyah) over the leftover coals, or my personal fave: A dish of plain yogurt with pieces of fresh fruit (apples, pineapple, strawberry, banana, blueberries, kiwi, etc etc) and chocolate chips on top.
Finish: another perfect DC day.

Share your recipes in comments!!!

Heyyyy hey

2006-06-13T00:04:00.000-04:00

Theme song: "Don't Bother," Shakira.

Hey dolls. You don't know what I do at work yet, right? I cover Congressional elections (mostly) or gubernatorial elections or conventions or anything that any of the aforementioned legislators do to run for the Presidency.
It's a pretty badass gig. Check me out here. [Editor's note: I'll admit that reading back sometimes sounds like I'm bragging, but the only bad things about my summer (k.o.w.) have been a lack of familiar faces and having to ride the bus at least 30 minutes to get into town (which has at best led to friends and at the least {finally!} lots of reading.) I'm trying to keep up on what I'm doing here for friends and fam, and if we talked on the phone, I'd gush just as much. After the hellacious spring semester I had, this feels like swimming in a vat of chocolate frosting sprinkled with chocolate chips. I love it here. I want to move here May 7. Everything I do is an adventurous experience. If my world comes crashing to a stop, I'll let you know about that, too. Promise. I'm just trying to bring y'all along for the ride. I recognize, so don't hate ... please!]
Back to biz ...
I don't work "on the hill." I work on the other side of town, just south of Dupont Circle (it's a great mystery to all staffers why the office was located here.) My day is from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. I'm a g.a., which means I could cover any election in any state that day for anyone who needs help catching up. My day consists of a lot of reading and research, to prep with background for interviews and angles. 5 minutes with a Rep. means no "uhms," flubs or pauses. Their chock-full schedule might force them to hang up on you. The publication requires thesis-length material, and those reading it (and editing) are experts or the legislators themselves, so the standards for reporting include being much, much more thorough than anything I'm used to or have read before. I got a badass crash course in politics, but after reading 5 full issues of our daily and 2 of our weekly, I got caught up to speed and feel in the groove. And like I found a niche. My editor is an encyclopedia of Congressional knowledge, which is very helpful.
I don't have deadlines. It's 'ASAP,' which is good and bad for me. Good in that I get some time to research properly. Bad in that I'm very motivated by deadlines thanks to 2 yrs in Daily Jrn. It's taken some adjusting and self-motivation but it's coming around.
Everyone in my office is young; most have already had sweet jobs or will very soon. There's not a lot of chatter. The people in my department are busy as hell just like I am (When your motto's 'every district, every state, every day,' there's not a lot of excuses for downtime) so there's not a lot of chatter or connectivity. Also, the young demographic means a lot of outside friends. A good diversion.
The people "upstairs" are the ones who spend all their time on the Hill, so they're not really "upstairs," or anywhere around.
A break for lunch, sometimes, usually work right through. Finding lots of good little cheap restaurants around (and for those who know my habits, a Chipotle is 2 blocks and a Starbucks 3.) I'll admit, I enjoy the unique when I can get it. Like this extremely cheap Indian food place that will fill your cravings for 2 Samosas and a 1/2 pint of hummus for $4 total. Yum.
So, folks, that is that. If I missed something crucial, let me know.

And now a word on the weather

2006-06-11T12:44:00.000-04:00

It's 71 degrees out right now, mostly cloudy, 36% humidity.

I'm freeeeezing.

Here in D.C., land of 95 degrees in July and 80 % humidity always, anything under 79 degrees is cold.

I had to turn my a/c off in the middle of the night. Now, my goosebumps are calling for fleece pants and a hoodie. 'Vunderbar,' since I have none of that (another reason having a luggage limit sucks.)

What a, er, climate shock. In MI, 71 is "gorgeous" weather. The 84 degree average in July is "killer." And we don't even have intense humidity.

How HOT is this?!

2006-06-11T01:46:00.000-04:00

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/ESPNSports/story?id=2061597&page=1

Prince William is now England's President of the FA, or soccer's equivalent of being head of the NFL. Power, princeliness, good looks, hot players. Man. What a mix. I'm not sure I'll be able to control myself.

If I ever see a picture of PW and Davy Beckham, my heart will stop from overload.

Vegas, New York, and D.C. they all ride wit' a G ~T.I.

2006-06-11T01:29:00.000-04:00

Places I hit this weekend:
-Pourhouse ($1 beers!)
-Madam's Organ (finally)
-Soussi (hookahs and amazing smallplates!)
-U Street (fun in the midafternoon, don't do it alone at night ... or in a group of less than 4 people. Bring ca$h for Ben's Chili Bowl. You might see Bill Cosby, who ate there this week!)
-Walked by the Capitol, Air and Space and Smithson Castle at night (you'll fall in love)
-Kennedy Center (abso gorg) for the 6 p.m. free concert (364 days a year!) This one featured a famous Mexican harpist (excellent.)
>Quick hit: Friday, went to happy hour imm. after work at 6, re-couped and ate @ DJ Zach's at 9, and went out in the "night-time" (haha) first to an 80's bar! and then M.O. It was hella funn and the night ended at like, 4 a.m. Wh'sup.

Added bonus of Saturday evening: Met a WP editor on the bus ... and subsequently died.

Tmrw a.m., Georgie on "This Week" and Mexico v. Iran at 12 and then Georgetown. Or laying out. Or some random activity I find on the CityGuide (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artsandliving/cityguide/)

California had primaries Tuesday ...

2006-06-07T13:15:00.000-04:00

Meaning the team of "Every District. Every State. Every Day." didn't see home til 6 or 7 a.m. No major upsets, surprise surprise. Looks like Rep's still have it.
Results here:
Mississippi 2

Cali 4

Cali 36

Cali 51, finished writing at 5:10 a.m.

Abuhh. I have to be to work (eight hours after leaving) so peace. Bed immediately after work tonight. Call me and die.

'dude, it's just a (saturday) night in the district'

2006-06-04T17:14:00.000-04:00

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC UNITED!
La Barra Brava!
La Barra puta!
Los que no sal-tan
Son hijos de puta!!

Okay, so all I know is that (above chant) means something about how the DC ridahs stand the whole game and the rest of y'all are pussies.
Mhmmmmm.
Saturday night was spent much like an MSU tailgate/FB game, but hellllllo, this is real football: DC United. Freddie Adu, Jaime Moreno, Christian Gomez, etc. etc. A lot of superstars that I forgot were on this team.
The highlight, though is this whole organized fan section, La Barra Brava, some of the most intense sports fans I've ever encountered. And for the love of Izzo I go to a Big Ten. Yeah, these 250 or so uber-fans would put all of Breslin, with their cushy $7,000 seats and their "ESPN prime broadcasts," to shame. It was so addicting. Thank God there's about 40 more games in this season.
I'm not gonna lie, I don't remember much after 45:00. DC did win - I know for sure because we got smokeBOMBED. literally. When the team wins, they let off smokebombs in the fan section. Usually there's a tarp to trap everyone under, but my occassional asthma thanks God that din't happen!
Another sidenote: Pro soccer boys are fucking hottttttttttt. The fans, on the other hand, ... not so much.
Saturday night we went to The Pourhouse ... or so I'm told. Hence the above quote from CH. I do know that I had three new "friends" call me the next day. Fortunately the one I actually wanted to call, this cool Hill intern, decided to make plans. Yay. Friends! :) Not that Warner and Ann and Matt and Monica aren't my, like, peeps-in-blood after that sweeet ass game. And bar trip. Mwah!

the park

2006-06-03T02:21:00.000-04:00

Parks during the day are a city oasis. A mecca of natural in a heaven of manmade.
When the stars come, parks, with endless dark and deep foliage -
parks become a setting for danger.
It's an oasis of a different kind for a different crowd with nowhere different to go.
Only then you hope it's cold or raining. Weather alone shields you from being pulled into that great dark abyss.

The Glory of Living

2006-06-03T01:38:00.000-04:00

And you wonder why I love city life:
A full night after a thoroughly satisfying workday of impressing my peers by writing three stories (each one the length of a four-page midterm), highlighted by 1. the intrigue of an extremely hot (meaning just-my-type) young man in full professional suit in my editor's office (possible new intern? Please God?) and 2. the discovery of a place 2 blocks from work that sells a half-pound of hummus for $1.15 (excellent naan is $1 per piece) and just-my-type-spicy "samboosas" (samosas!) 2 for $1.50. A thoroughly filling meal that, while I've been more impressed by other variations of hummus, gave me neither upset stomach or dissatisfaction.
In mental decompression time between articles, I sought out a chic event for the night and landed on "The Glory of Living" playing at none other than a venue called "The Warehouse."
I highly suggest that if you ever come to DC, you go to The Warehouse. If a play isn't on, there will be a film, an art showing, a discussion with an artist. Basically, "The Warehouse" is everything you hope for in an independent venue; something you imagine hiding in the bowels of Lansing or the history of East Lansing when it wasn't corporatized.
It's also like the Red Eye Cafe in Saginaw, on the cusp of the area Midland parents forbid you to go to - even in daylight - one too many newscasts about brutal and random drive-bys, strangulations and other such monstrosities.
My walk there and fear during intermission about the walk back to the Metro led me to write "the park" which I will publish in a seperate entry.
"The Glory of Living" was remarkable. I might do a fuller review in an entry tomorrow. But for now: It wasn't the kind of subject matter I'd usually pick. The 15-y-o daughter of a prostitute runs off with a 30-something car thief and kidnaps young girls. I was shocked by the depth and emotion of this seeming "little play that could" stuck in a small venue on the far East side of town. The set was bare, you were sitting almost on top of the stage in steep stadium seating, you saw the scene changes. But the actors were those rare talents on the precipice of breaking into the big time. It was all about the emotion, as the script intended. It ended on a more-bitter-than-sweet note. Oh, and turns out as I search for a link, the script was a 2002 Pulitzer finalist. Durrr.
Feeling high after, I went to KramerBooks in DuPont Circle. KramerBooks is the ideal independent bookstore: It's open 24 hours on Fri/Sat. It's the one place in the city where it's okay to be a big-ass dork who goes to bookstores on a Friday night. It has live performers almost every night and it has a bar/cafe/highly acclaimed dessert menu in the backside. My need to celebrate the zest of being prompted me to order a $7 slice of chocolate cake. Which I ate on the outdoor patio. Which has a penchant for attracting attractive foreign men. The bookstore also has a large collection of relevant American History books. Like Boys on the Bus. Finally. I'm 50 pages in (I bought it 2 hours ago) and I'm in love. Thanks SF!
Wine, bed, up early to read in the morninglight and then D.C. f*ing UNITED - my first professional soccer game attendance.
Aaaaaaaand you wonder why I love living in the city. The glory, baby. ;)

ATTENTION ALL JOURNALISTS:

2006-06-03T01:16:00.000-04:00

This post is solely intended to draw attention to the dire state the First Amendment is in. The most mainstream example, but by far only one of a thousand, is a simple lyric in "Not ready to make nice" by The Dixie Chicks.

Wake up, J-School kids. A 30-second listen is all it should take to scare the shit out of everyone who wants to/is writing for a career.

What the lyrics tell us about:
The sad state of the Public's perception of free speech: "And how in the world can the words that I said/ Send somebody so over the edge / That they’d write me a letter
Sayin’ that I better shut up and sing / Or my life will be over"

Die. Look at that guys. That's fucking scary. Are you down to die for this? Then you better harden up and be a ridah like you're supposed to.

The attitude every journalist in America should have: "I’m not ready to make nice / I’m not ready to back down / I’m still mad as hell and/ I don’t have time to go round and round and round"
A journalist's rendition:
"I'm not ready to (accept anything but the truth)
I'm not ready to (suck it for you)
I'm still mad as hell (to get the real story out)
I don't have time to (listen to your spin/bullshit)"

Mmmm, tasty

2006-06-01T23:31:00.000-04:00

Read 'em and ... leave me comments! Mwah **

Cali

Alaska! ?!

Jefferson, a freezer, and those political hounds

Dali

2006-06-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

Ask me about my night via e-mail.
I'll tell you next post why I can't blog shit like this on it.

On a fun note, stolen from everyone's favorite Jessica, MASH:
You will live in House.
You will drive a Ugly, horrible taupe Maserati.
You will marry Michael Jackson and have 7 kids.
You will be a Celebutante in Afghanistan.

The sick, sad part of all this is that, in this day and age: IT COULD HAPPEN. Except for the part about ugly taupe Maseratis. Maserati is too (fly/smart/sexy) to produce cars that color.

On that note, I saw a guy driving an Enzo on Penn Ave, on his way to Georgetown.
Mother----

PS: A fun thought (from Forbes magazine) ~ In a feel-good mood? Don't try buying the world a Coke. Even with $1 billion you can't afford it. But for less than $60 million you could buy everyone in the U.S. a can of Coke.

A Midsummer's Night Dream

2006-05-30T23:39:00.000-04:00

This eve after work I dare embark
On an adventure destined to last past dark
Upon Pericles mine eyes commit
The D.C. Shakespearean Company
Of fame - here, see: (click me!)
Nary to say, "quite the opportunity."
A play of wit – and understandable - the best!
In an open-air ampitheater
Dedicated by President Harry S. Truman, no less.
Two blocks from that dwelling I call home
Surrounded by an outline of trees
Sunset gives way to stars
A sliver of a moon
The unbearable heat, humidity
Well, it barely broke
But thanks to it, hardly a mosquito dared show.
The performance was of highest quality
Fantastical, romantic
Even swashbuckling and tragic
Whos mournful sighs comedy swept up swiftly
A rare adventure, surely worth the heft
Since nary a penny I spent
The walk home, sparkling
With a twinkle in the eye and barely a feather in foot
This happy night soon to give way
To dreams coated in starry dust
And harried pentameters abound
And with this, fair friends,
I leave you to present night’s end
;)

Pandawwwwwwwwww

2006-05-30T23:31:00.000-04:00

Monday
Chillaxin' it up in the National Zoo.

Here:
Tai Shan (Check out the Panda cam!) Abuhhhh. (Will make a grown man drool.) "Butter stick" is now ten months old. Did you know female pandas only menstruate once a year? (lucky) And that most times, if a male is interested in sex (there's an option?), he "misses his aim" as the Smithsonian puts it. (typical.) However, after months of scientific poking, prodding and general interupption to undo the interrupting (development) humankind did in the first place: we have Tai Shan. Abuuuuuuuuuh. SO cute!

More highlights here:
My new best friend

Here:
New favorite

And here:
My faves - grrr baby

In memoriam

2006-05-29T19:25:00.000-04:00

Sunday
I fully intended to go to Georgetown. When my bus stopped on the edge of Rolling Thunder , I was distracted.
Overwhelmed is a better word. 200,000 veterans on motorcycles, completing a loop of Washington, D.C.
I couldn't help it. Despite my feelings about war, despite how I feel about motorcycles, I started crying. Right there on Constitution Ave.
It was a rare and beautiful moment in American history, where people come together for a common cause, for solidarity, camraderie, humanity, to feel, to remember.
In a lonely war, fought by a few allied troops, it's good to know our soldiers can find community in 200,000 that have fought before them. Actually, that's only the ones on motorcycles. Plenty more, some maimed in fighting, some too old to ride, walked around, gathered, waved flags, peace signs, shouted "Thank yous" as loud as they could.
It was beautiful. Inspiring. Made you have some hope for the future.
I stuck around the Mall the rest of the day and took in the festivities. I've never celebrated Memorial Day except for one ambitious Sunday in middle school when I walked to the cemetary at the end of our road and watched the mass there commemorating those who died in the wars. The importance of this day has never hit me though. It was cool to see the thousands of people wearing flag-print everything, or to see the flags circling the Washington Monument, or to see the families out celebrating the nation's capitol.
And then, the real reason I was on the road: PBS' Memorial Day Concert. I had heard about it from my roomate and when I looked it up - Oh yeah, Colin Powell was the speaker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I. LOVE. Colin. Since he was in Clinton's cabinet. He's so ... sexy ... in a completely respectful way. I mean that - he's one of the few men in Washington I've respected and felt like the nation could trust. Sigh. Dude he was awwwesome. But there's a while 'til we get to that.
I got to the concert at 6, it started at 8. I was always the kid who was like, "Daaad, why do we have to get to Christmas mass fourrrr HOURS early?!" This event being a little different, of course, as 100,000 people were let onto the Capitol lawn and I wanted to be as close to the stage (Colin) as possible.
The concert setup was pretty sweet. Lounging on the lawn was kind of fun. I befriended a couple sitting next to me who were travelling from Kentucky. As I said, everyone in D.C. has a story (for theirs, see below.)
The concert started. Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna (dunno, my mom kind of shrieked about him for a minute) co-hosted. This really good/famous mezzo soprano sang the National Anthem, tear. Colin baby spoke - to everyone's suprise - from the Capitol steps, behind the half of the crowd that I was in. I could have run up and been front row but I was too in shock at his presence. Hearts and flowers. Lee Ann Womack sang that "I hope you dance" song, which when introduced "for the Vets of the Iraq war" produced goosebumps and single tears. Big & Rich sang a song for a vet they met bartending. They travelled back with him to the place where he was injured in the Vietnam war and there they buried the boots that had to be cut from his feet that day. They showed the video montage of that experience. That alone was sad. Then they brought the man on-stage - and he was crying. Everyone in the audience started tearing up too.
All the military units (is that what they're called) were commemorated: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, National Guard. This apparently famous actress read this mother's story, of her experiences after her National Guardsman son was deployed to Iraq - and finding out he died. Even the actress lost it during that part. Definitely cried again.
I'm really glad I went, though. I learned a lot that day. All in all, the day was muuuuuuch more emotional than I have ever experienced. Standing in the shadow of our nation's Capitol that night, I truly understood for the first time what the phrase "freedom carries sacrifice" means.
So, for all those who deserve it: Thank you.

(The Couple from Kentucky
The husband (quieter) grew up in Indonesia (he was white) and went to college in Germany. The wife (quite the gabber) has never left her Kentucky hometown, but has travelled to allll these places. They met overseas, randomly, right after he got a job in North Carolina. So he contacted her when they were back in the States and after doing a bit of a long distance thing and took some trips together (they both love to travel) and the rest, is history. All together now: awwwwww.)

I got young cats gettin' at me

2006-05-27T00:19:00.000-04:00

YO YO YO. Night 2. Awesome.
I've barely been home since I got here, I know I know. For once I'm (in early) and sleeping in tomorrow.
Tonight was dice. Dice on fire.
My roommate Brock, 27-ish, works for the Treasury Department, working deals on security bonds. That means, talking to foreign ambassadors about investing in American $$$. Dude - 27. I still can't get over the damn YOUNGness here. It's so tight. Like at work. [I PROMISE I'll get into more detail ASAP.] At work, everyone is
#
IF YOU'RE EVER in Washington, D.C., go to Local 16. This place has never been advertised but it's hopping. It's on an obscure corner in the U-street corridor (well, actually, the busiest intersection - 16th) that no one notices because they're walking past to whatever 'tis they do. But this PLACE. It's hot. Floor 2 roofdeck. Inside like an old-school Victorian house - I shit you not - with the furniture removed, a bar installed on one side and a DJ turntable on the other. The DJ was hot. Not as hot as the darling from Thursday night but it was like obscure, strong beats that made you want to move.
Move we did. Me and Stephanie, my roommate's girlfriend. She brought Mancusio (said Man-coozy-o), her work friend from Uruguay. He was cute-ish-not-really. From Jerrrrsay. South Jersey, nothing there, less of an accent. Of either place. Stephanie was just so sweet. They were shocked I was 21, hahaha. And the boys (men) at this bar were classy, single, young professionals. AkA hot. And lots of awesome stories and pasts and names. (See: Darius, Mancusio, Nicohlahz) This, btw, is the 4th night out that I've bought nada but my bus fare into the city. It's hype. Esp. since D.C. is a Cit-ay so of course you're paying dollahs.
So this place. We had a good time chatting and dancing and just checking the atmosphere. Then we went to Ben's Chili Bowl, the first African-American owned biz in DC- and it's still there. Booyah. Denzel, Venus, Bill Cosby - all have been there. Cosby, a frequent since 1958 when it opened, has his favorite item recognized on the menu - straight up, you gotta try that! Dude they specialize in (dur) Chili, but DAMN it's HOT. I love hot food, been chillin the Tabasco since high school, but I was crying. AND THEN - they had hot sauce bottles on every table.
And here's the great thing about DC: Everyone is young. Everyone is an implant. Everyone's looking for a friend. It's so easy to meet nice people. Stephanie, for example, is taking me to Georgetown (can we say, "the scene of JFK, Jr., the Bush Twins, etc." InTiMiDaTiOn) with her roommate and Man.q. is coming (he just moved to DC 2 wks ago too!) Idk about all that but if it happens that's tight. I'm excited.
Tmrw I'm going to try and buy a bike, hit up the National Zoo, go to Politics and Prose, get some sun, a chill day. I need some rrrrest. My carry on and one of my 2 bags have yet to be unpacked. Although there's SO much I NEED to see still. 'Saiight though. I need to get on this blog - you need to know about work and see where I live! - and get back on my tan. DC weather's gorg. Yes! It's soooo humid. But you get used to it, like a blanket. You just do your hair for the day's weather(for once, my straight, fine hair is the desired type - it lays flat as usual or even curls a bit. Whoda thought!?) And it's been 75-80 everyday. Mostly sunny.
+Exciting, quirky event of the weekend: "Rolling Thunder": 200,000 (yes, two-hundred THOUSAND) Vets driving into DC on HARLEYS for the Memorial Day weekend. By a variety of perspectives, a sweet event. Apparently you can hear them -loudly- down in the metro if they drive above, or blocks and blocks away if you're aboveground. Hence the name. I don't know if I'll go, that's damn intimidating and where do they all end up!? But it sounds like good photo and a can't-miss once-in-a-lifetime thing.
Fuck it, I'm young!
Can't wait.
DC LUV. Always!

Hate it or love it the underdog's on top

2006-05-25T23:36:00.000-04:00

You know nothing of where I work.
You haven't seen where I live.
You need to know everything about my night.
I'm so pumped right now, tonight was A*mazing. A great night in rare form!
Boss invited me to Le REEF, this 3-level bar that (it turns out) is decorated like a jungle, with a "canopy" of army netting and leopard-print seats and wood floor and a glass bartop with rocks and moss visible underneath. Campy-sexy.
Turns out they only have top-notch beer. Part of the beer menu: "Miller Lite. For those who dont' like (big word for trashy) and (big word for cheap) places. See coaster for more details." Meaning they don't offer it, they just have Miller Lite cardboard coasters. ROCK. Snobbery in that they know they good but still have fun.
Anyways.
My boss and I were the only ones to show up ... thx to Memorial Day weekend/almost a recess. Oh well. My boss is really cool, a beer conesieur (a;lkdjfa l;dkj WHY CAN'T I SPELL THIS!?), an MSU grad, etc etc. We had a *my very first* solid political conversation. And he was good about asking about future plans and such and dropping hints as to how I could get there. And he's a crazy journalist like we all are, so he's totally into Celtic music. Random. A (big word for smart and selective) of that as well.
Anna is the weekday bartender at Reef. Also from Michigan. Also quite a character. Yet very mothering. Definitely made me feel at home. And made me a "Key Lime Pie," sin in a glass if you ask me.
Zach (last name synonymous with Happy ... leading to good things in the future I hope ;]) is the DJ. He loves reggae. He's also extremely cute ... and came to talk to me. While my boss was sitting there! Spitting game in front of le boss ... SO awkward.
Turns out it was a full moon or something tonight because then this happens:
This chick, 40-something, pretty but has been around the block, walks into the bar. Sits between my boss and a very large, handsome, built man next to that. Starts talking to ... my boss. "I saw you." Say what?! "Walking here. You look familiar." In fact, feels so comfy that she ashes into his Greek Pizza. W-izzzz-eird. Looks like she's beyond gone -more like, 40 years of antidepressant overdosing with a bit of lithium and Wayyyyyyyyyyy too much alco to be walking. She sufficiently creeps out the 10 people (inc. Zach the DJ, Anna the bartender, and, finally, the owner who's helping host a private party on the roof.) Eventually the owner came down and "escorted" her out (more like winked once, she fell in love and followed him like a damn puppy dog to the nearest taxi. He came back immediately, of course. whatever it takes tho, dude.) This prompted my boss to call it a night shortly thereafter and DJ Zach to come chat. And give me his card right before going to DJ some reggae. It was tight. that left me alone to enjoy the music and anna's company and meet Heather and Josh. The couple that isn't. Rare to see that these days. Heather's a sweetheart who lamented her eating habits while scarfing a plate of mussels. Josh is a level-headed dude with daggers tattooed on both forearms who wants Heather but knows she's too sweet to ever see him like that. Both are real nice and we chatted for a while.
Then, it was a cab ride home under the beautiful DC skies.
Well, I'm off to e-mail Zach after just a gorgeous night.
Only in D.C., baby. I LOVE it.
Last note of mention: The owner knows my boss (the Reef is the Peanut Barrel of this publication) and so I met him and he gave us all a shot of like, top-shelf Mexican tequila given to him by the chief of staff for the Mexican embassy who frequents/loves the bar. BADASS.
Peace luvas.

Street girls bringing in sailors must pay for room in advance

2006-05-21T21:08:00.000-04:00

*Editor's note: I want this entry to be perfect, because D.C. is. But alas, I ain't that good. Yet. Bear with!

DC *LOVE.*
Seriously.
I’ve been here since Wednesday afternoon and not one bad thing has happened. Yet. I’m scared shitless sometimes. The scariest thing in my life will always be the first time my dad watched the cab drive away from downtown up to my house at 9 p.m. on a Wednesday. Adulthood feels official. I didn’t know where I was. There are fences around a church. Is that someone sleeping on the bus stop bench? What are all these people doing walking around? Everything so close together. So dark. So deep. Secrets. Danger.
Four days later, of course, I'm getting my city legs (drinking Tanqueray walking past the Library of Congress, what?)
Yeah, it’s been a big party. Going somewhere a few days before starting work is a good idea, to get a feel for the city. After what I’ve seen and done I won’t be too distracted at work. Only because I work on a street in the business district that borders le residential, so there’s not much going on outside. I've been lucky because Truth! has been in town with his crew and he's shown me DC his-style. Like the Front Page, a bar completely themed ... Newspapers! I got to see Dirk and him today in Crystal City for the PISTONS game, that was awesome. And my friend Matt from Bay City lives here now and he's done an awesome job of showing me the ropes.
First impressions
There’s so much energy here. East Coast. Faster. But no New York snobbery. Not even in Adams Morgan [where a (gorgeous) three-story tall, two-room-wide rowhouse costs $2 million.] Things are so chill here. I’m convinced it’s a big college town. Everyone here works Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. They watch the games after work, go home, go to bed at a reasonable time. Then, they party Friday and Saturday nights. “Young professionals” – us – go to Adams Morgan. The major party is in Dupont Circle, things are crazy there. That’s Scenester Row. There’s always something to do. Georgetown, Adams Morgan, downtown. And you wonder why I want to be in a big city.
Side note...
Everyone here wears H&M like it’s AF or AE. If you don’t know what H & M is we can stop talking now. I’m kidding. Sort of. Check it out. Guys and girls. You’ll love it. Very unique. Express clothes (trendy and decent quality) with Target prices (you wonder how they do it.) Even the people that aren’t dressed well or look like they should be shopping for clothes have H & M bags. It’s always busy. Yes, I’ve been there twice. I only have two suitcases to take home. They were almost full when I came here. You can send stuff home, right?

The crib
My house is amazing. I love it. I wish I was here, I'm always running around, but it's a good place to crash. I still need to settle in, I haven't even hung my clothes. It’s too hard to describe in great detail so I’ll post pictures as soon as I load them. It’s on 16th street – everyday I see the White House and the Washington Monument beyond that as I ride into town. It’s really, really north. The Cambodian embassy is three blocks away, Rock Creek Park (bigger than Central Park) is two blocks behind me. I have a front yard and a backyard with a garden. It's like the suburbs. The houses next to us are huge, mansions. I think they're single-family. Which would be insane.
I haven’t met everyone that lives here yet. There’s five of us. Including Babe, the 65-year-old landlady who prints Presidential programs and has an occasional weekend job with Hard Rock Cafe. Awesome. So sweet. Looks just like Bette Midler (without major plastic surgery.)

Eastern Market
Sights and sounds and smells. Food and art and Earth.
It’s doubtful they have a county fair here (haha) so this is the closest to that, and the Midland Art Fair.

Dirtier than ever
The city is dirty.
Not really. You can’t eat or drink on the public transportation; they do a good job of keeping bums out of public areas (q. of the day: where do they go?) But the thought of holding an escalator rail, a metro rail, a bus rail – there has to be a bunch of disgusting shit on there, unless they’ve made metal that kills germs. Coughs, nose picking… etc. Bleah. I bought a mini bottle of Purell to counteract all this communal touching. Here’s hoping.
I wore a white skirt to the Market today, and of course I got soda on it. How? Why? Because I wear white.

The boys
Are pretty. And clean. And tall. And trendy. And professional. If not a combo of these, then they’re old or a MAN. Usually a business man or a working-class man. And then you look for more boys. There were Navy men who just got off their boat and were in the bar at Adam's Morgan. In uniform. There was this boy on the bus who looks like the lead singer in Fallout Boy. Hot. There's a lot of boys. Hot. Boys.

The people
Are really friendly. I didn’t know D.C. was considered South. That explains some of it. It’s not really an eye-contact city. I’m okay with that, being a single girl alone here. But everyone is looking at each other. And sometimes they say hi to you. You can make eye contact if you’re on equal levels. We could look at other college-age/young professionals, and be safe.

The transportation
It takes forever. You don’t realize it because there’s so much activity. I can see why people wouldn’t want to live in a big city. After traveling on public transit and seeing the traffic backups, it could be overwhelming/frustrating/pointless to some people. I love it. These transits are the crawling backbone of city life. Where the action’s at.
But it does suck when you think that “8 blocks” really means about a mile. Eight blocks away is a “short” distance. I have to walk six from my bus stop to get to work everyday.
That takes time.
The bus takes 25 minutes to go about two miles. Per hour, the bus only makes it four miles. Four miles per hour! On a 30 mph road. In Midland, my commute to school was seven minutes and that was about four miles.

So that's that. A vague sketch I know. I love it. The climate, the people, the lifestyle. It's grand. I'm having an amazing time.
And I haven't even started work yet.
Tomorrow. 10-6. Everyday. Tuesday I do primary coverage. AH. So excited. Tuesday = Pistons with Matt and Warner (my new best friend, btw, just the best guy. But don't tell his 7-year girlfriend, the rest of the female population is holding out hope.)
Then a Nationals game with Brock, who lives here too. Then, D.C. UNITED. Etc, etc, etc, etc. I love it.

THE mix

2006-05-17T00:29:00.000-04:00

"Here I go again" Whitesnake
"Leavin' on a jet plane" John Denver
"Patriotic opener" The U.S. Marine Band
"Washington D.C." The Magnetic Fields
"Summer in the city" Lovin' Spoonful
"Bustin' loose" Chuck Brown
"Pony" Ginuwine
"Ghetto Superstar" Mya
"Mass" Leonard Bernstein
"Heaven only knows" Emmylou Harris
The West Wing Theme Song
"The District Sleeps alone tonight" The Postal Service
"Sin City" ac/DC
"Let me be" Parliment
"You've got a friend" Roberta Flack
"The District" Adam Richman

Bonus Tracks: TORI AMOS = Early, early stuff, like Y Kan't Tori Read!

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go, 8:15 a.m. is the traditional pre-travel family breakfast ------- less than 6 hours. AMEN.

Life lessons

2006-05-14T13:34:00.000-04:00

My mom shaved my cat's ass today.
I kid you not. It's Mother's Day, no less.
Apparently, my cat was having some problems down there or something, so the solution was to shave the region. AWKward! I only know all this because I volunteered to help give the cat a bath. It's probably sadistic of me but it's fun to bathe the kitty. That sounds bad.
In other news, I pinched a nerve in my right wrist. Most likely because of that journalism class where I was on the computer 10 hours a day. That. Or dancing Friday night.
After my journalism class, I went to Grand Rapids to visit BFF C.H. He's the only person I can hang out with for hours and hours (and days and days) and never get sick of or annoyed with.
Ergo, Friday/Saturday was amazing.
We went out Friday night in GRap. I actually like GRap. Iiiii know - a Michigan city!!! I'm not dying, I swear! We had dinner at Yesterdawg, yum yu yum yum yum. Def. a "once a semester" type place, like Bell's during the day. Then we went to this club with some of Chris' very awesome friends. They played awesome hits like "Beep" and "Hips Don't Lie" but forgot "Ridin' Dirty," my new "Party up."
Speaking of musak, my mom got an iPod today. It was hilarious and again shows the generation gap. My dad even asked me what "blog" was today. Hehehehehe. They're cute.
Wrist, hurts, must go "pack." More lata <3

Originally published 5 minutes ago in my class blog

2006-05-08T01:44:00.000-04:00

Blogging - is this the future of journalism?
Right now, I still don't think so. After looking through the book and reading some things on Poynter, I see why blogging can be a positive thing. It can give you additional information, quicker, tap into the feelings of a situation. You have unlimited space. The Internet is a chic medium and to say you read a blog is trendy because not a lot of people do yet.
But the rest of the blogging world outside of journalism blogs is, well, anyone. A 13-year-old can get a blog. A grandma, a corporate VP, a porn star. It took me less than three minutes to start this blog and begin writing a post. It will publish and be available to read seconds after I finish it. No one will edit it. Where, then, is the line between journalism and amateur blogging? What is the difference? Since it is such a new idea, I don't think people in our audience, the general public, see the difference yet. A blog is a blog is a blog, there need be no credibility, experience or intended good will to apply. Why go to school for four (plus) years to be overshadowed by unprofessionals, unreliable people?
To get comfortable with the idea of blogging, there will have to be a recognizable gap between journalists and the rest of the blogging world. It's fine for us in the profession to recognize that, even now. But the rest of the world doesn't know the difference between regular blogging and journalists blogging, and that's a scary idea. That could mean that our blogs are taken less seriously or that other peoples' blogs are taken seriously and then something happens where credibility is lost and then all of journalism gets blamed and then we look bad. It's a big liability to take on and in a society that already distrusts the media, it seems silly to bring more criticism without thinking through a solution first.
One area blogs could work is on a newspaper's Web site. It's there that people will know that the newspaper is sponsoring this, that it's edited, that it's part of the news service and the news experience. It can be controlled and different things can be tried with these blogs.
The antithesis to this idea is this blogging service we discussed on the last day of my media law class, where newspapers like the Washington Post buy the service that, like the AP, feeds in new stories - all from blogs. Granted, I haven't looked into how these blogs are edited or what the bloggers' backgrounds are, but this made me cringe. How long will I have to work to legitamitely get my name on the WP Web site? Or should I just leave school and work to get one of these blogs that are on this service?
I hope this class opens my eyes to how the world of journalism can be expanded into the realm of blogging, in a standout way that protects our standards of credibility, newsgathering and expertise.

Tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty?

2006-05-06T22:45:00.000-04:00

Too bad, I'm 21 now!!! Woot woot.
I <3 that song by Chamillionaire. Yeah Midland girls.

Sooo, I went to the bar 3 nights in a row, bed after 4 every night, up at 9ish (or 7:30!!!) all mornings, and bia' ~ no hangovers! Yeah I was taught by the best.

Wednesday night, Landshark, was amazing.
Second night, Rick's w/my 2 best gals (and Innes, of course), was hella fun. The afterparty was UnBeLiEvEaBlE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Third night, my parents and aunts and uncles and cousins gathered for an impromptu pizza party for my bday. After sustaining like 83937409x487 jokes about my "drinking," (which was like nonexistent this semester) I only had one beer at dinner and they all ended up getting drunk except for one aunt who had to drive my uncle home. Yeah, that was funny. As they were holding onto the corners of the table, I galavanted off w/CH to like 4 bars in Bay City. T.G. for no covers. Ended the night at a dance bar with seven boys + me. :-) That was fun to say the least.
Today was family day, with a nice dinner w/just the 'rents @ the CC, where I ordered a mint julep - only bad drink I've had this week. It's like, bourbon or something. Ickkkk. Even my daddy was like, hell no.

Right now I'm staring at a room full of boxes, this is overwhelmingly ridiculous. I have to consolidate my life into two suitcases for DC. Aghh. Why do I feel my wardrobe is not going to appreciate this? That's what tmrw is for, packing. First day in forever I get to sleep in with no obligations to wake up to. That's a good feeling.

Mmm, another note of this (hopefully not so much) pointless post: This (two?) days in Midland, I've only seen (with the exception of CH!) only old, old friends that I just happened to run into, all those ones that are, OMG HI I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN FOREVER AND ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT YOU kind of friends too. :-) Like this one kid that I went to middle school with who was at that last dance bar randomly. I didn't recognize him as I went up to the bar, even as he looked at me and was like, "Hey, you took my spot," all gross bar-flirting (the worst part about the bar.) In his defense, he's not totally gross. He was a hot mess tho. So I looked at him and I just said, "OMG, (full name here)!!!" And scared the shit out of him. That was FUN. Turns out it was his 21st so I bought him a shot and we dished about old times as much as two really drunk ppl can remember middle school.

My mom got me a book for my bday that's basically a compilation of analyses like SparkNotes for 100 "great books" called, appropo, "The Book of Great Books." It's really making me want to fill a suitcase with books for DC (ahh suitcase space = sore subject.) Or just bring this book and get a library card (nerd alert.)

If you can still get your hands on them, grab some Gobstopper EggBreakers. They're AWESOME.

Hugs kisses and time for SNL,
LjP

Random thoughts

2006-05-02T20:23:00.000-04:00

to be edited/explained later.

I have Clarissa's shoes, Molly/Kristen's beer, Matt's pants.

I'm 21.

I'm about to start another summer. I have come a long way since May 2005.

This summer is going to be way diff/crazy than last. :-D

I go crazy around finals. Let's not bullshit. Here's an excerpt of a convo w/roommate and best friend Laura (and whilst we've had many an AIM convo when we're sitting in adjacent rooms, this one is justified b/c she's at work.)

bonitachicaljp: Dude I haven't even started
bonitachicaljp: Per se
bonitachicaljp: I have my title page done
Reddie85: all the more reason to break then

Reddie85: how long does your paper have to be
bonitachicaljp: That's just it
bonitachicaljp: "research paper" with no limit
bonitachicaljp: So I'm aiming 5 pages
Reddie85: what ohh those suck, find a dumb kid and put your paper after theres then we the prof grades em, you'll look good compared to the last crappy paper
bonitachicaljp: lol
bonitachicaljp: right
bonitachicaljp: HEY
bonitachicaljp: you're saying my paper's crapopy!?

Reddie85: before you aim for 5 pages any chance you want to get prepared to study... with say taco bell
bonitachicaljp: .......... how'd u know
bonitachicaljp: lol
bonitachicaljp: Sure
bonitachicaljp: What do you want
Reddie85: oh gosh lets see, a crunch wrap supreme no sour cream, small pop sierra mist, and how bout to top it off 1 soft shell taco
bonitachicaljp: YEAH
bonitachicaljp: CRUNCHWRAP WHAT
bonitachicaljp: wow, I just got way too excited
Reddie85: hahaha rock on!!!
Reddie85: you gettin one 2
bonitachicaljp: No no
bonitachicaljp: I had another fab dinner
Reddie85: yes yes
bonitachicaljp: steak w/green beans
Reddie85: ohhh reall
bonitachicaljp: Yeahhhhh
Reddie85: y
bonitachicaljp: Mmm
bonitachicaljp: I like this end of the year-clean out the freezer meal plan
bonitachicaljp: :-)
Reddie85: wow so gormae (haha can't spell)
Reddie85: gormenta
Reddie85: ??
Reddie85: so confused
Reddie85: you know fancy dining
bonitachicaljp: Gourmet
bonitachicaljp: Lol
bonitachicaljp: I was like, Jigga what?
Reddie85: thank you

Eyelash wishes

2006-05-02T16:39:00.000-04:00

Sometimes a song says it better than words. This song tells the story of my life now and for the next two weeks.

Spin around
Tell me what to say
Break down
And no other way
What is it
Is this it
This is it

Back to
I never knew your name
Stick through
Soon after the rain
She shines
How she shines
This is it

And shadows blend one last time (save those kisses)
Your picture speaks on this time (eyelash wishes)

Cause I been up 3 days
Awake awake
2 more weeks
And I’m turning to fade
The world still turns
What makes sense
Stretch this song to a fever cadence
Up 3 days
Awake awake
2 more weeks
And I’m turning to fade
And all things close
All I wish
Never change these distances

Green eyes
Everything I see
Green skies
If left up to me
And I know
And she knows
This is it

And shadows blend one last time (save those kisses)
Your picture speaks on this time (eyelash wishes)

Cause I've been up 3 days
Awake awake
2 more weeks
And I’m turning to fade
The world still turns
What makes sense
Stretch this song to a fever cadence
Up 3 days
Awake awake
2 more weeks
And I’m turning to fade
And all things close
All I wish
Never change these distances

Just be brave
Just listen to me
Your heart gives mine reason to beat
Now

Cause I've been up 3 days
Awake awake
2 more weeks
And I'm turning to fade
The world still turns
What makes sense
Stretch this song to a fever cadence
Up 3 days
Awake awake
2 more weeks
And I'm turning to fade
And all things close
All I wish
Never change these distances
And shadows blend one last time (save those kisses)
Your picture speaks on this time (eyelash wishes)

Some things money can't buy ...

2006-04-30T23:13:00.000-04:00

Place to live in DC? Check. 16th St!
Flight to DC? Check. May 17!
Internship? Check. May 22-Aug 18!
Nationals game as my staff welcoming? Check!
List of recommended things to do? Check x 1,000!
Calmly waiting to get there? IMPOSSIBLE!

VISITORS WELCOME. MUST LOVE D.C.

-LP

A roof over my head ... ?

2006-04-24T23:44:00.000-04:00

This is pretty embarrassing.

I still don't have a place in DC to live yet. I've had TWO places that have been PERFECT. Gotten screwed on them both - they've gone to other ppl. Why? We don't know. Yeah.

My friend Chris, who lived in DC, said he got 40 e-mails in one day when he posted a sublet on craigslist. Samuel, my latest prospect, got 10 e-mails in the 10 minute convo we had on the phone this evening. I was the third person to reply to his ad, posted at 10:30 p.m. tonight. I responded at 10:40.

It's just CREEPY - not only how many ppl have sublets but how many people want them. Seriously.

I don't know if you've ever done it, but searching for housing from far away, where you can't visit, is very stressful. It's fun, in a sick way, because it's a one-track thing and if you don't get one, there will be 400 more in the a.m. to send out. But I'm getting a little tired of the process, and dammit, it's getting really close to May 22.

In sum, please say a prayer for me tonight, that of the 4 places I'm considering now - one of them works out. SOON.

A breath away's not far to where you are

2006-04-01T11:59:00.000-05:00

Bonjourno,
I am going to spend my summer in Washington, D.C. working for Congressional Quarterly.
I'm so excited.
May 22-Aug 18.
That's a long time. A long time to enjoy Big City livin', The Smithsonian, Mama's Organ, ethiopian food, H&M, I-friekin'-KEA, friends, being 21, Dupont Circle, Georgetown, Adams Morgan, the mall, the Capitol, a three-hour bus ride to NYC, etc. etc. etc.
I'm pumpppppppppppped.
:) Check back May 5 for the return of the Summer Adventures blog.
-LP

Shout-out

2006-03-26T22:53:00.000-05:00

You know how when something very obvious becomes very profound? A big, positive change in your life was sitting right there in front of you the whole time you're suffering and badabing, you see it in a new light and suddenly it's huge. Let's just hope the light was turned on before you tripped right over it and got hurt in the discovery process.
In my case, I didn't get hurt. I got healed. Better. Happier. There was a long time that I didn't put two and two together, that without one I was just not going to make it where I wanted. It was easy though. I didn't need a neon sign, I just needed someone to tell me that there is love and hope.
Now I just worry that I'll be able to sustain the change. That's the hardest part about change. It's easy to change. Keeping it up is hard. And you know I have a hard time keeping on things. Hopefully this works though. I suppose when you want something bad enough and for-real enough, you will do what it takes to get it.

So thanks. I owe you everything.

They build crooked bridges of shaky toilet paper

2006-02-12T23:39:00.000-05:00

1. I said I'd be here all night
2. Let's get happy, so happy, c'mon be happy!!!

Hey.
I spent my day in the glorious sunlight. Maybe I wouldn't think so highly of freedom if I saw some sunlight everyday (ahem,GenMan,ahem.)
Woke up at 9, studied for my test, did a Meijer run, ate a fab brunch (French Cinnamon Raisin Toast w/syrup and strawberry jelly and fresh-cut strawberries ... to die for) went to Kresge's paltry but singularly representative 60s exhibit, walked around campus in the glorious vitamin-d providing sunlight, studied for 4 hours for my American State Gov't test but feel totally prepared, went to a jazz concert (yessss!!! My fave kind), came home, ate a fabulous (and again, homemade) Greek wrap (YUM), did some jrn, did some PLS, got some new bands, chatted w/ the roomie, saw Melissa for a few, wrote some shitty poetry.

The only thing I regret about today is not making time to paint. I finally have another idea I would willfully follow through (present for a tall boy from Medina!) and I would break out the brushes right now but I really don't have time this week I don't think, with the midterms and Jrn data and such. :( That's the only thing I really hate about my current schedule: I def. don't have time to have a hobby (if you don't count music.)

In other news,

The Rookie Roast was a blast. I danced my quads off (literally, they're killing me, why do I dance in knee-high boots? Oh yah, cuz it's a workout!) and had a lot of fun with everyone... hope everyone else had a lot of fun too! It was great to see Feeny and Nick R., BC and Nick M. and even Bob!!! dance. Plus we had major Rookie representation. And, omg, the photos. Hahaha. The Photos. Thank you F.Bk. Without you, I wouldn't remember my Friday nights.

:)

Mucho de luv~o!
-L

I'll be here all night

2006-02-12T21:53:00.000-05:00

I got a postcard in the mail today.
It said, "Congratulations!!!!!!!! You've been nominated to a free month at XyZ Gym!!!!!!!"
And I thought, "Great! Someone out there thinks I'm a fatass," and tore up the postcard.

looking at this confetti

2006-02-06T23:27:00.000-05:00

I’ve been listening to a lot of The Tragically Hip lately. They’re the kind of band that has that rock-star, hard-rock, power ballad, folk anthem type stuff all on one album. The kind that makes me emote 6,000 ways from Sunday. Or Saturday, rather. That’s when I got the album.
My mom’s hilarious. She just got e-mail and her fascination at its depths inspire me to contemplate how the Internet has change modern-day socialization.
I want to know what the election of Hamas means for international relations. I don’t even know what Hamas is.
I want to think of 100 story ideas inspired by a Tab Can, as the professor from Columbia School of Jrn said in a New Yorker article he has his students do every year.
I want l'objet de mon amour sans retour to hang out with me and see me as more than an acquaintance but rather as a friend. He’s the one that you could have deep, intimate conversations until 5 a.m. with and fall asleep on the couch next to and wake up innocently like that one Boy Meets World episode and I’m in too deep. Wayyy too deep.
I want l’object de mon courtiser to wake up and distract me.
I want to sleep now.
I want an escape to look forward to this summer. At least I’m not the only one?
I want to get sick so I can spend two days on my couch listening to my iPod with my uber-cool new headphones. Sexy. Seriously.

Webster would be proud.

2006-02-06T00:16:00.000-05:00

There is something sexy in your words
So hard to understand your mumbling toungue
Holding breaths for captivating adverbs
Undulating past open lips
It makes for an interesting read

2006-01-23T23:00:00.000-05:00

Family.

his ghost still haunts my memories although it's not allowed

2006-01-21T12:22:00.000-05:00

Hope dangles on a string
Like slow spinning redemption
Winding in and winding out
The shine of it has caught my eye

And roped me in
So, mesmerizing and so hypnotizing,
I am captivated, I am

Vindicated
I am selfish
I am wrong
I am right
I swear I'm right
Swear I knew it all along
And I am flawed, but I am cleaning up so well
I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself

So clear
Like the diamond in your ring
Cut to mirror your intention
Oversized and overwhelmed
The shine of which has caught my eye
And rendered me
So isolated,and so motivated
I am certain now that I am

Vindicated
I am selfish
I am wrong
I am right
I swear I'm right
Swear I knew it all along
And I am flawed, but I am cleaning up so well
I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself

So turn
up the corners of your lips
Part them and feel my finger tips
Trace the moment, fall forever
Defense is paper thin
Just one touch and I'll be in
Too deep now to ever swim against the current
So let me slip away
So let me slip away
So let me slip away
So let me slip against the current
So let me slip away
So let me slip away
So let me slip away
So let me slip away

Vindicated
I am selfish
I am wrong
I am right
I swear I'm right
Swear I knew it all along
And I am flawed, but I am cleaning up so well
I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself

Slight hope
dangles on a string
Like slow spinning redemption...

2006-01-20T21:32:00.000-05:00

so i had to break the window late last night he's so cute and i'm getting bored with the other him i wonder when the oblivious one will notice and how much harder i should try i shouldn't have spent that much money i should be reading i don't care i wish it was summer i wish i was with matt i wish i had a million dollars i wish i had better nails i should get a life i really don't mind it but i wish i could dance and run in the rain like it used to be but when it used to be it wasn't with chris and then i don't know where i'd be today is not eating a symptom of some higher purpose because of the religious ties with fasting or is it a sign of materialism because of the image ties with anorexia i can't wait to get a puppy i can't wait i wish i can't wait i wish i wish i wish when will i stop saying things like that you think this is honesty or is it me directing my thoughts to say what i want them to say i want you to see i get my digital camera back tomorrow weather permitting does that saying every picture steals a bit of your soul apply and if so does that make him the devil or does that make sense that i love every photograph i know i had violent flashbacks to austin tonight and i had to tell them to stop it was hard and it hurt but they stopped when i heard a rap song proving my theory about emotional ties to songs i wish i could dance around and scream and throw away every care like i was twelve cycling manically around my driveway trying to take off and fly

This took me 2 seconds

2006-01-15T01:55:00.000-05:00

I know myself well. True.

You scored as English. You should be an English major!
Your passion lies in writing and expressing yourself creatively,
and you hate it when you are inhibited from doing so.
Pursue that interest of yours!

English

100%

Philosophy

100%

Art

100%

Anthropology

100%

Sociology

100%

Psychology

92%

Dance

92%

Journalism

67%

Theater

67%

Linguistics

67%

Engineering

58%

Mathematics

50%

Biology

42%

Chemistry

25%

What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3)
created with QuizFarm.com

Words cannot say

2006-01-14T01:24:00.000-05:00

As journalists we're supposed to put it all into words.
But sometimes, there are emotions you just can't capture. Well, the best can. But not many fall into that category, myself included.

Tonight I saw Brokeback Mountain with some people from TSN. This led to two things:
1. BM- I realized how little words are necessary sometimes in life. And how much of my life is run by my emotions, making it hard to explain to other people.
2. TSN - I realized how many great friends I have supporting me. It's not like I have a difficult time or anything like that, but it's just great to know that for once, the people that I care about are right there too. It's awesome.

Then, I started looking through Greg's Myspace and his photos and then I looked at mine, the one of me and Shannon. That made me remember all the great times I had with all those people who are now gone. And I know some of those people seem random, but they all had a great impact on me.
This led me to thinking about Matt and Nicole and Innes and Al and just generally reflecting on all of the great people in my life in the past three years. And how much it's changed.
I really, really appreciate everyone who I've had the pleasure of befriending, and I feel like sometimes I don't tell them enough. If you're one of those people, know that I *heart* you and miss you!!!

-L.

Sitting on a window sill, looking past a dirty pane

2006-01-11T01:22:00.000-05:00

I don't have time to write this.
But I'm not doing my homework right now and I'm not sleeping so why the fuck not?

I still love my job. Mostly because our system seems to have a huge red carpet rolled out for *CHANGES* that are in line with what I want and with what everyone else wants. YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! Who knew!?
Oh, and because my reporters are super-fucking-awesome amazing. Seriously. Dedication and work levels are at an all-time high, and I don't think they're too stressed? I don't know... I really hope not!

Words have never been so sexy.

I am worried about classes. And that whole social life thing. And The O.C. and the School of Music.

I also want to go to the movies with someone (I can legally go with!) but I'm not sure if it's worth it at this point; if nothing else it may send mixed signals that will fuck me over lata b/c of this whole I have no time to even eat thing.

On that note, yoga is amazing and doing wonders for my posture/body image. Not sure about the waistline but who gives a fuck anymore?

I'm glad I didn't get my lip pierced.

I'm learning a lot more about myself in these 11 days than I have in a long time. It feels good.

I miss Greg and Chris. I wish Matt and I could talk more. I wish I could call my parents. I miss Foley and Jackie a ton, too ~ MS&U love.

I wish I could get my laundry list of personal things started... that's annoying.

I wish I could talk to more people in the newsroom for longer :(

I can't wait for... time to do my homework. And the time when I can finally tell him. ;)

Love,
LP

I'll pencil you in

2006-01-07T02:33:00.000-05:00

Schedule:
Next weekend, party w. my girls
Two weekends, Chris then Greg are coming up
Three weekends, MPA conference/Chris' in G-RAP!

This is going to be a very good January. :) :)

Go tell it on the mountain

2006-01-04T20:24:00.000-05:00

Let it be written down in the annals of history that I, LJP, sincerely, officially and semi-surprisingly, love my job.

Hide and seek

2006-01-03T02:05:00.000-05:00

I'm scared to sleep.
+I am red and blue and velvet and I'm melting into the lyrics in the song you gently hum at night when you are alone+
I keep playing these games in my head, scenes of the future and I don't want the answers but I demand them immediately, so this mind trip will stop.
Tomorrow I wake up and I prep and I leave. I'm going back to East Lansing and City Editor and some sort of classes. I'm about to sacrifice a lot, I fear, for a job that will be totally worthwhile and which I will totally love. But I'm finally in a place where I'm comfortable with the rest of my life, too. I love my friends and I like just chilling out and watching movies and talking all the time. I like not having my back muscles so tense it hurts. It's weird to be truly comfortable like this for the first time in a year and a half.
Sigh.
I don't know what I'm going to do without Chris. And Greg. Chris has quickly become one of my best friends, it's been a year (dude you've gotttt to be kidding) and I feel like I know him/he knows me better than anyone. I guess 20 hours in a car will amplify those feelings. And Greg has become a habit I don't really want to cut back on. For the first time, the first time or the first time in a long time I'm not sure.
I'm planning on a few trips this semester to ease the aboves. I'll attempt to save up for Chicago but it's unlikely that will come. I was one week away from going to Dubai with my dad for Spring Break, that is a heartbreaker that his trip is too early. Of course I'll be going to G.Rap a few weekends, CH will be here a few weekends, I'll see Greg a few times for sure, Matt will come here and I will probably go to Ann Arbor because I need a good dose of Truth and I'm really sad I missed him last time, I forgot how great he is. I just have that aching need to wander, like I did in CT, weekend road trips all the time. I thought Nashville would cure it but it just intensified that inherent desire.
And then there's my future. I wish I wish I wish it would all just be okay now now now.
Also, while on this path of verbal diarehha, I'm thinking about getting my lip pierced on the lower left side. I'd do it Wednesday but now we have the DigiCam incident to deal with, joy, and so I have to see when I'll have to be home again to pick her up. Or maybe I'll just do it. (The idea here tho is to avoid my parents for as long as possible, preferably til it heals and I can remove it around them out of respect.)
My trip to Nashville was pretty insightful and this blog is just inspired by ancillary thoughts from that. Matt always does a good job of helping me self-reflect, whether conciously or not. And 20 hours in a car with someone leads to good discussion. At least with Chris it does.
I've concluded maybe.
Maybe maybe maybe maybe maybe.
For the first time in my life, it just might be maybe.
And that's perfect.

NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASHVILLLLE

2006-01-02T01:50:00.000-05:00

Dudes.
Just got back from Nashville, and in the original spirit of this blog, I will write my first full entry in a while because it was a trip.

My best friend, Matt, lives in Chicago for school. I met him in Midland. His family moved to Nashville this year following his dad's job.

My other best friend, Chris, I knew from Midland (in HS) and he and I are tres alike in a good way, especially the part about getting out of Midland.

So Matt's BDay is NyE and I haven't seen him in 8 months. We've remained best friends, I have no idea how, probably because there are some bonds that just cannot and will not break.
He wants me to come down to N.Ville for his bday and after mucho begging, my parents approved Thursday a.m. - my dad came up and woke me up at 8 a.m. to inform me.
Chris jumps at the chance to come on a whirlwind trip away so at 8 a.m. Friday we're in his dad's Caddy facing a 10-hour car ride...
... that turns to be 12. And that's with the 1-hour time zone change.
It was an awesome time. Matt was so pumped to see us, we did the downtown Nash-vegas, the countryside, Vanderbilt, the HUGe mall, WILD OATS, hung out and just reconnected. It was good to see ea. other again. We watched LOST, too, which I NOW LOVE! BOONER!!! lol (we think Boon is hot).
For New Year's, we went out to this sweet hipster restaurant, RuSan, with his 'rents. We order sake (aka Shittay, even tho I love Sake SOMEONE didn't and so I had to drink the whole f*ing bottle, which no human is supposed to do, gag) and sooo much sushi. Then we went to Wolfy's Den, connected to Nashville's big entertainment center, think like Breslin, where Brooks and Dunn and Big and Rich were playing. The bar was so sweet, third floor, all glass, you could see right out onto Nashy's main strip. SWEET! Matt and I of course go exploring and discover THE FOURTH FLOOR, lol, which was a balcony/loft type bar to the bar, with seating up against the balcony to look out over the bar (trippy!) and enough room by the elevator to have a three-person dance floor. Perfect-o. So we spent our night up there, dancing our asses off to the amazing house band, drinkin' OJ/Vodkas and bein' silly as use. It was so much fun.
Then we came back for face masks, water and NAN, his kitty who nearly killed Chris and I. Apparently I snore but that's crap. lol. jk!
His parents cooked a big ol' brunch which of course none of us could stomach but did b/c it was soooo delish. I <3 Matt's parents!
Oh and his house was so beautiful. A big, brick townhouse in downtown Nashveg. It was in a development/suburb that Faith Hill proly lived in. Drool.
The weather was beautiful, 65 degrees every day. Jan. 1. 65 degrees. I could have tanned. It was so sweet.
The rides there and back weren't bad. There were a lot of funny signs along the way, esp. in KY, like "Bluelick," "Big Lick Park," etc, and some more like, say what-type signs such as, "Site of Fatal bus crash," or "Hill" by a very obvious... hill. There was a lot of interesting culture, like btwn cities like Louisville and Cinci and then the backwaters of TN/KY which sometimes were very obvious. It was a good experience, I'd never been through that area before and it was actually very pretty. Even in winter.
I actually really liked Nashville, especially. I'm not one much for southern culture or Country music, but it wasn't like that at all. The main strip down town is, and of course there's the Opry. But places like The Gulch (the hipster scene, like where RuSan was and other younger-ppl clubs) looked, as I said, pretty hipster and young, not country at all. It could have been a few blocks in... Chicago! lol. No NYC for sure, sawwy. And the people were sooooooooo nice. Like, so talkative and courteous and stuff. Life truly is slower down there, which was such a therapeutic environment to be in.
I def. wouldn't mind the weather or the countryside or the town. After-school job, anyone?
Yeah let's not talk about jobs right now. I've got to save my last few precious moments of vacay.
Which I would have to say has been very, very good. I got to see some good friends and hang out with my fam more than use, and catch up on books, movies and sleep, things I don't get at all at school. I got a great adventure and was very fortunate to be able to do it all in the short two weeks I was home.
Time to rest up and start fightin' the good fight again soon.
Love you guys!
:*
LJ

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-25T04:18:00.000-05:00

and a Happy New Year!!!

much love to you if you read this ;)

Two songs

2005-11-19T19:06:00.000-05:00

That had an impact while I was driving home:

Have you ever loved someone so much, you'd give an arm for?
Not the expression, no, literally give an arm for?
When they know they're your heart
And you know you were their armour
And you will destroy anyone who would try to harm 'em
But what happens when karma, turns right around and bites you?
And everything you stand for, turns on you, despite you?
What happens when you become the main source of a pain?
"Daddy look what I made", Dad's gotta go catch a plane
"Daddy where's Mommy? I can't find Mommy where is she?"
I don't know go play Hailie, baby, your Daddy's busy
Daddy's writing this song, this song ain't gonna write itself
I'll give you one underdog then you gotta swing by yourself
Then turn right around on that song and tell her you love her
And put hands on her mother, who's a spitting image of her
That's Slim Shady, yeah baby, Slim Shady's crazy
Shady made me, but tonight Shady's rocka-by-baby...

[Chorus]
And when I'm gone, just carry on, don't mourn
Rejoice every time you hear the sound of my voice
Just know that I'm looking down on you smiling
And I didn't feel a thing, So baby don't feel no pain
Just smile back
And when I'm gone, just carry on, don't mourn
Rejoice every time you hear the sound of my voice
Just know that I'm looking down on you smiling
And I didn't feel a thing, So baby don't feel no pain
Just smile back...

[Verse 2]
I keep having this dream, I'm pushin' Hailie on the swing
She keeps screaming, she don't want me to sing
"You're making Mommy cry, why? Why is Mommy crying?"
Baby, Daddy ain't leaving no more, "Daddy you're lying
"You always say that, you always say this is the last time
"But you ain't leaving no more, Daddy you're mine"
She's piling boxes in front of the door trying to block it
"Daddy please, Daddy don't leave, Daddy - no stop it!"
Goes in her pocket, pulls out a tiny necklace locket
It's got a picture, "this'll keep you safe Daddy, take it withcha'"
I look up, it's just me standing in the mirror
These fuckin' walls must be talking, cuz man I can hear 'em
They're saying "You've got one more chance to do right" - and it's tonight
Now go out there and show that you love 'em before it's too late
And just as I go to walk out of my bedroom door
It's turns to a stage, they're gone, and this spotlight is on
And I'm singing...

[Chorus]
And when I'm gone, just carry on, don't mourn
Rejoice every time you hear the sound of my voice
Just know that I'm looking down on you smiling
And I didn't feel a thing, So baby don't feel no pain
Just smile back
And when I'm gone, just carry on, don't mourn
Rejoice every time you hear the sound of my voice
Just know that I'm looking down on you smiling
And I didn't feel a thing, So baby don't feel no pain
Just smile back...

[Verse 3]
Sixty thousand people, all jumping out their seat
The curtain closes, they're throwing roses at my feet
I take a bow and thank you all for coming out
They're screaming so loud, I take one last look at the crowd
I glance down, I don't believe what I'm seeing
"Daddy it's me, help Mommy, her wrists are bleeding,"
But baby we're in Sweden, how did you get to Sweden?
"I followed you Daddy, you told me that you weren't leavin'
"You lied to me Dad, and now you make Mommy sad
"And I bought you this coin, it says 'Number One Dad'
"That's all I wanted, I just want to give you this coin
"I get the point - fine, me and Mommy are gone"
But baby wait, "it's too late Dad, you made the choice
"Now go up there and show 'em that you love 'em more than us"
That's what they want, they want you Marshall, they keep.. screamin' your name
It's no wonder you can't go to sleep, just take another pill
Yeah, I bet you you will. You rap about it, yeah, word, k-keep it real
I hear applause, all this time I couldn't see
How could it be, that the curtain is closing on me
I turn around, find a gun on the ground, cock it
Put it to my brain and scream "die Shady" and pump it
The sky darkens, my life flashes, the plane that I was supposed to be on crashes and burns to ashes
That's when I wake up, alarm clock's ringin', there's birds singin'
It's Spring and Hailie's outside swinging, I walk up to Kim and kiss her
Tell her I miss her, Hailie just smiles and winks at her little sister
Almost as if to say..

[Chorus/Outro]
And when I'm gone, just carry on, don't mourn
Rejoice every time you hear the sound of my voice
Just know that I'm looking down on you smiling
And I didn't feel a thing, So baby don't feel no pain
Just smile back
And when I'm gone, just carry on, don't mourn
Rejoice every time you hear the sound of my voice
Just know that I'm looking down on you smiling
And I didn't feel a thing, So baby don't feel no pain
Just smile back...

I watched the proverbial sunrise
coming up over the Pacific and
you might think I'm losing my mind,
but I will shy away from the specifics...

'cause I don't want you to know where I am
'cause then you'll see my heart
in the saddest state it's ever been.

This is no place to try and live my life.

[Pre-Chorus]
Stop right there. That's exactly where I lost it.
See that line. Well I never should have crossed it.
Stop right there. Well I never should have said
that it's the very moment that
I wish that I could take back.

[Chorus]
I'm sorry for the person I became.
I'm sorry that it took so long for me to change.
I'm ready to try and never become that way again
'cause who I am hates who I've been.
Who I am hates who I've been.

I talk to absolutely no one.
Couldn't keep to myself enough.
And the things bottled inside have finally begun
to create so much pressure that I’ll soon blow up.

I heard the reverberating footsteps
sinking up to the beating of my heart,
and I was positive that unless I got myself together,
I would watch me fall apart.

And I can’t let that happen again
‘cause then you’ll see my heart
in the saddest state it’s ever been.

This is no place to try and live my life.

[Pre-Chorus x2]
[Chorus]

Who I am hates who I've been
and who I am won’t take the second chance you gave me.
Who I am hates who I’ve been
‘cause who I’ve been only ever made me...

So sorry for the person I became.
So sorry that it took so long for me to change.
I’m ready to try and never become that way again
‘cause who I am hates who I’ve been.
Who I am hates who I’ve been.

Last night... duh ;)

2005-11-13T04:11:00.000-05:00

"I'm just tryin' to dance boy..."
Heyyy baby`s!
Last night was, indubitably, amazzzzzzzing.
TSN in its true, finest, mass awesomeness. We know how to roll. How much drama was there? Girl I don't even know, hahhaa. Too much jungle juice. According to a massive chant, not enough drugs. And everyone lookin' wayyy hott (or was that the booze? Haha, I'm playing!) Dancing up a ridiculous storm, which was so much fun!!! I would say there was more dancing than talking last night. Which was the point! And, btw, the secretaries know how to get down. That's all I'm gonna say. And then, Kris being blown~ass drunk and falling through a glass table!?! Plus making out with 30 girls on top of a 3-way in his room later (none of this I was involved in, thank Cheez-its.) And check Foley and Jackie and gosh knows who else's blogs for the rest of the drama det's. Apparently I drummed up some drama of my own... which, kids, let's stop the spin I'm sure is rampant while we're here: that wasn't an ENC party thing, that's been going on for a while. Pllllease. (And Foley, you should check your facts. Honestly, weren't you a copy editor? ;P ;])
And on a final note (regarding the true purpose of this party) our next ENC, Mr. N.M.z~ski, was very inspirational last night and gives me a lot of hope for our future. Phew!!!! Lookin' forward to a very, very good year, thanks Nick :-D
What's next... the Holiday Gala!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sweet.

more stuff on my mind

2005-11-10T02:08:00.000-05:00

1. I'm sorry I didn't clarify this earlier: There is NOTHING wrong with plain-looking people (look who's talking here, guys.... this is me.) I just don't think that someone should be praised for something they don't have.

2. Secrets:
a. I love, no - LOVE - PBS. Omg, it's amazing. I'd so donate money to it if that meant getting more PBS channels. But that'd mean I'd be not-broke anymore. Hmmm. What about a whole channel of PBS documentaries? A whole Frontline channel!? A whole channel of Antique Road Shows?!!!!!!!!!!! mmmmmmmmmm, drool.
b. I love painting. I kind of secretly can't wait to lock myself up in my room for days so I can just paint.
c. I entered college thinking I'd be a designer instead of a reporter.
d. I'm adopted. I'm watching this documentary about Roe v. Wade, about the court decisions after it and how the new Supreme Court justices might affect this debate. This is making me think. That might be scary.
e. I love advertisement designs. Almost as much as I love photography. Which I love only slightly less than paintings. I once spent three days reading the book about the absolut ads. Muwuhaha.
f. I would run before I'd watch a movie when I'm bored. Like, you'd find me exercising before you'd find me watching a movie when I'm bored. And, I'd scrape my nails on a chalkboard for 30 minutes straight instead of ever watch Jerry Springer.
f. I love strip cardio. (maybe that's not a secret.)

That's all. Also, I really love Katie and Jackie. They're just really awesome girls.

2005-11-07T11:09:00.000-05:00

Scared... (25% of my grade paper due at 1:50)
Happy... www.statenews.com (Nov. 7 edition)
Tired... 3:30 a.m. bed, 9 a.m. awake
Exhausted... PLS test Weds, 1st draft Jrn 408 Thursday
Geeked...AP test Friday

Oh the emotional life that is mine.
I'm going to go curl up into the fetal position and cry. :)

Fall, or "I need a pillow"

2005-11-01T05:39:00.000-05:00

Bonjourno!
Entre dans le "randomness"... :]

I fell asleep twice today.
I forgot to drink my coffee this morning. Well, didn't have time because I decided to sleep in.
So, PLS 200 at 8:30 a.m. was fun.
I kid.
It did get out early, so with an extra 38 minutes before I had to trek to Wells, I slept on a couch in Wilson. Yep, slept in public. Wrapped up like those we call "bums," a burrito with a coat shell. (Note: Probably not as delicious as Big Ten :[ ;].)
At any rate, I got into full REM, a good cycle of nappage.
The second nap was after I FINALLY FINISHED BENANG!, which I had been reading at my special-secret study place at like 8:20 p.m., a full 25 minutes before I had to go anywhere near my 9 p.m. assignment.
So, I slept in my car.
That one was weird. 1., It was cold. 2., it was awkward climbing into my own backseat in the middle of a public parking lot (with other people around.)
But damn, that was a good nap. After numbness set in, I was out like White after Labor Day.
Once again, awkwardness as I climbed out of my own backseat. I actually had to debate whether to flash my remote key lock or just unlock the door. I wanted to just unlock the door to keep the interior lights off, thus failing to illuminate my situation. I forgot if that made the alarm go off or not, so I just flashed the keys. Whatev, whatev.
Then, walking to and from my assign. tonight it was raining. So gorgeous. Golden light penetrating droplets, refreshing and warm breeze that smelled like leaves, yellow leaves coagulating on the sidewalks. Gorge.
With that, I'm off to sleep. :]. Vit Water, Kresge, Shop Girl! and paper (and the paper :|) tomorrow!
Au Revoir mes amis,
-LP

2005-10-30T23:45:00.000-05:00

"She couldn’t find a song she wanted anywhere on her iPod. She was going through that phase, that phase where new music is a must but she has no money to find any.
She needed a friend." ~Wow.

Deadline!

2005-10-20T06:51:00.000-04:00

Tonight was my first night working on page one deadline in... well, since July.

Hot damn son, THIS is journalism.

The rush of the drive back. The adrenaline. The glory of running in. (Yeah, I said it: GLORY.) Saying you finished a story in 45 minutes. Stoke-my-ego, that's pure sweetness. It's all of the wonders of journalism compacted into 2 hours (or 30 minutes!) :) :) Makes me recall why I started in this biz.

Then, there's the fall out: the, "oh shit, what'd I miss?" the, "does it even make sense," etc. Lately things like this have been glaringly brought to the spotlight and that hasn't been fun... even, dare I say, disheartening?

We'll see how that goes. In the meantime, check out page one tomorrow and stay classy kids. :*

A problem

2005-10-19T04:40:00.000-04:00

Don't we have enough issues with censorship that censoring ourselves is like playing on the enemy's team?

And I quote:
"Things have gotten crass-er, edgier, a no-bullshit generation. ... Good advertising is a balance between edgy, innovative and relevant," advertising professor, in the biz 25 years.

Sounds pretty applicable.

#

"You look so good in blue."

Carmen encore

2005-10-17T05:49:00.000-04:00

This post was supposed to be about how I miss Connecticut. I'm not sure how it turned into a column about all the youthful things I miss. But that's okay. I do need to say this:

I miss Connecticut.

I saw my little maroon and white insignia at the bottom of my AIM profile and I had a moment, where I had to catch my breath, calm the nausea, stop the whiplash, as all of my amazing memories came flooding back to me.

Was that me?

Was it me on the beaches, on the Gold Coast, on Mansion Drive, in pursuit of truth, working for this paper, writing under that byline, days e-mailing, being in the field more than calling, Sylvia!, learning from those people, joking with my peers - who in actuality were 15 years older than me and 5,000 times better-, was it me? Was it I who mastered highway driving, hung out in four states in one day, who drove past Nathan Hale's gigantic monument to a country bumpkin fest with Justin, was that me in New York, with Austin, in Galapagos, the sunrises and the sunsets, the 4 a.m.s, the Puerto Rican and the Bulgarian and the Irish and the Chinatown bars, on the train with Clarisa and Subway, blowing too much in the shops, Coney Island, Village Voice, brunching in Brooklyn, Christian and the Turbo Ice, did Chris and I really spend one glorious day there, seeing the entire city, standing on the roof of the Met, so close to true love (with simply a place!) I could have been pushed into the Hudson and died happy?

Sunny days and hills and trees so you couldn't see, and my "big bro" Aaron and Wesleyan and crazy Renee, and Keokola Iced Bohemians and shitty drivers and beautiful drives and I can't be there for fall to tell Yolanda how it's so much prettier, and I never made it to the Cape, and at my loneliest I never felt this isolated and so out of touch with what I truly loved.
It's not fair.
This is the bane of the internship circuit: They throw you out there for two, three months tops, and then you have to leave and return to something that feels so much more empty. I want to go back and tell each person and place and thing I happened to run into how much they touched me and how much they motivated me and how two years is too long to return.

You can't go back, but can you go forward? Somedays, not soon enough.

I. Heart. Connecticut.

Always.

Carmen

2005-10-17T05:32:00.000-04:00

I don't know, I don't know, I don't know if I can go back.

Do you ever work really hard at something and then in one instant, some jerk says something and the tears well up and the lips quiver and it's all over? I know the jerk doesn't know what he's done, well, maybe he has some idea, but seriously.

I'm just trying. It's more than he can say.

Defeat is no fun. Maybe I'll just stop dwelling on situations and let them roll. You'd think with all my A.D.D.ness it'd be easy. Nopers. Good to know; it's a fault I need to work on anyways.

I had apple slices with dipping caramel tonight, YUM. And my roommate has pumpkin pie her grandma gave her, and we have apple cider (which we spiked with Morgan's last night, YES!) and we have candy corn and a whole glass jar full of Halloween candy, and my light-up pumpkin and ghost and my real pumpkin.

In other words, I LOVE FALL AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR HALLOWEEN.

Seriously, the best dates are cider mills and the best foods are apples and cinnamon donuts and the best weather is crisp fall air and the best sounds in the world are crispy, crunchety leaves. And how fun is Halloween, the eternal holiday, for which it's still cool to dress up like you did when you were 3, 8, 15.

Ahh, to be young again.

This weekend my roommate and I went out and wandered the streets of E.L. for an hour in hopeless search of a party. It was like freshman year all over again, but we were both wearing coats and tennis shoes. It was kind of fun. And then we came back and warmed up with apple cider and Morgan's and got silly happy. It was great.

I read, too. When was the last time that happened? It was ridiculously gleeful. "The Corrections," Jonathan Franzen. I'll never finish it, it's 586 pages and I have a whole coursepack for PLS, 6 books for ... oh shut up, I'm sick of what I have to do. Hahah. This book is good, it won the National Book Award, it's about a dysfunctional family and it goes into depth with all their lives and brings their paths back together, those are the best types of books. It's like a big, big article. I mean, it's a great piece of literary work. Stop thinking about the job!

I wish I could stay up all night reading and then do my internship packets and then sleep for two days, but with all the work I have to do with classes and work-work, that won't happen. In fact, nowadays I'm in bed by 12 a.m. YES! For those of you who knew me freshman year, you're laughing and thinking I'm lying, aren't you. It's true. I'm OLD. Boo. Maybe I should make some changes so I can enjoy my last three and a half semesters of youthful freedoms before I actually do have responsibilities.

Isn't it though?

2005-10-10T01:15:00.000-04:00

The littlest acts of kindness can seriously evoke the most ecstatically-joyous happiness.

For example, an e-mail to someone on their birthday, even if you aren't the BEST of friends. What a damn nice thing. Or just wandering over to see how someone's day is going. Even you don't really have time. Not that the other person has to know that. Or what about, holding the door. Or sharing half of a candy bar. Or bringing someone coffee. Or dropping a note on their desk just to say you heart them, or they're doing a good job, or that they look hot today. Or always. Just some little, ridiculously easy thing. It's so hard to fathom this actually occuring on a wide level.

Goddamn, humans never cease to simultaneously amaze and disappoint me. But then again, if everyone did it, it wouldn't be as much of a "treat." Then again, should it really be a treat? Wouldn't the quality of life improve exponentially if you could rely on the dispersion of gems of joy? If you walked in to three notes, a Tootsie Roll and flower, wouldn't you have a great day?

C'mon people, let's do this.

Heart you,
LP

Me so happy

2005-10-05T08:56:00.000-04:00

LOL... Happy apparently ='s cheesy.

So I'm finally ridiculously happy with MS&U. Check out today's (Oct. 5) section. And A1 ;). Although I don't want to jinx it and have something horrible crawl out of the woodwork, I'm pretty damn proud.

I seriously never thought I could say this, but I think I'm almost half a features writer.

CnC for life, of course. ;*

Speaking of, somebody check out that Michigan Press Association shit. That makes me really proud and happy.

Today was also ridiculously just FUN at work, what with the holy Foley's birthday festivities. And I was on MAD deadline (think, walk into work with one story, end up with four) and just craziness, at work really late... just like old times. :'(. Y'all are making me miss news!

And this last week has been good, I saw an old friend who looks sane and healthy, that's always good ;) and then I talked to another old friend for a lo-o-o-ng ass time, which was amazing because I HEART him muchos.

Looking forward to Friday, whenceupon there is Cider and a Mill and a trip and then possibly a recipe for fun along with that movie night. And Saturday, with presents!!! and family, which I've seen every two weeks. After two solid months of no fam, that's borderli- no, wait, it is! excessive. Oh well. They're bringing gifts. LoL.

So, "to sum,"
>>>Life. rocks.

SP & Mayonaise

2005-10-02T08:47:00.000-04:00

Aiight, things are getting better.

My hell week of five tests, a front and an internship notebook is OVER.

Thank God.

I had a really good weekend, a good game (two good games!), got to see T-izz-om! in Last Spartan Standing, way to drop it like it's hot and WIN, baby! Yeah! And tonight I hung out with three of my fave gals and we just party-hopped, sober. It was cool to get out and see the world a bit again - - -that strange, strange, mostly drunken world that is East Lansing and MSU society. Heart.

As for other things: The aforementioned (in this blog) problem is slowly recovering... I'm going to do my best to keep the spirit and keep on cheerleading. :) I love it and I can't give it up. What I'm rooting for, that is. "I believe!!!" haha.

Another problem is kind of coming to a narrower position, too. Not to the point where it's do or die time, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel and I can propel myself closer. We'll just have to see if this light is the answer I'm looking for or if it's a mirror hanging on a dead end, with 1,000 awkward and embarrassing and obnoxious obstacles and booby traps in the way. That'd be the typical thing.

And, internship season officially began today. Yipp...ee. Teehee. $1,000s in postage wasted. ;)

So, more free time now. That prospect is amazing!!! What will I fill it with?

It's all in the numbers

2005-09-19T08:31:00.000-04:00

This has been a damn weird day.

This post was going to be about this trend in fashion that I'm noticing, but I will save that for another day. It's an idea for an ongoing set of blog entries. I'm too damn distracted today. Anyways:

So, well, Monday. First of all, it's Sept. 19. I don't know what Sept. 19 and I have with each other, but this has been a significant day in my life for reasons unexplained. Life-impacting shit has happened on that day in the past. Who knows what this year's Sept. 19 means in the grand scheme of thangs.

Here's the breakdown:
> I have eight circles of thinking going on at once. IE- School, work, homework, car, etc. How much is too much?

>I got an awkward confession that I already knew about. Emphasis on the awkward.

>My dad called me today. From the U.N. In Vienna.
1) I didn't know my dad was out of the country
2) I wasn't that surprised considering he's out of the country 1/3 of the year w/ his job. But usually I know he's leaving.
3) The U.N.?! Are u f*ing kidding me. I HEART Kofi. He's my new Alan Greenspan.

>I got a message from a guy I was good friends with : IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. What?! This kid was a cute/shy/dorky little guy and we used to run around the gym in 4th/5th grade. Awww. I think we're meeting up this Friday. WHAT!? lol. I'm going home for my cousin's wedding so I blurted out that we should hang. Criminey >>> Awkward.

>This thing that's been nagging with the writing stuff I do is finally coming together. Yay.

>My sister called me tonight about college. W.e.i.r.d., read, she never calls me, much less about college, but good.

Just an all-and-all series of very strange events. Which took me away from my JrN hw. Which, I'm going to get killed in. Here's to wishing I wasn't a Jrn major.

Look for those fashion columns.

The notorious,
LP

And I Said

2005-09-13T07:43:00.000-04:00

I'd like to think of myself as a fighter.

When some big huge hairy problem gets in my way, I like to think that I'd fight against it.

In fact, I always do. And I usually win, or lose for a good reason.

But it's especially motivational if what is standing on the other side is something I've truly desired for a long, long-ass time. Longer than the O.C. has been in my life. Which seems like a long, long time ago.

Now sure, there's a big, huge, gaping black hole behind me sucking me back into it, but I really, really want to fight against this and get to this objective... finally. I'm resolved in my determination.

Oh sure, there's been other brushes, glimpses, if you will, of this objective. I've revved up and tried to jump over, around or crawl under, military-style, this beast in my way. I can't identify it, like the demon in the seventh circle of Dante's Hell. It looms over me, crushed pieces of past attempts in its jaw.

I don't know. Maybe this objective is like the shadows in Plato's cave which look purty and shiny now, but they're just shadows. Maybe I'm being delusional...

But damnit, I really, really, really want to win this round and find out for myself, for once. At least I'll get the good fight, even if the pot o' gold on the other side turns out to be pennies.