Category Trials and Tribulations
Election Day
Election day today! After three-and-a-half hours standing in line outside in the cold (temps in the mid-30s), I’m happy to report that I have fulfilled my civic responsibility and participated in this democratic experiment. I missed a half-day of work, but with Virginia being a key battle-ground state, I think it was well worth it […]
Les Miserables, or Here we go again
In case you haven’t heard, the musical Les Misérables is coming to a movie theatre near you. We’re essentially T minus however many days there are between now and December 25. [Cue cheering from musical theatre geeks and anyone who just wants to hear Hugh Jackman sing “Bring Him Home.”] As any self-respecting French-major would […]
Boise Wedding – In which I overcome trials and get an awesome car
Barely back from wedding festivities in Germany, I left DC again on Wednesday for another set of nuptials. This time with my younger brother, Mark, as the groom, and the setting Boise, Idaho. The trip out went as planned – I flew from DC to Chicago, then on to Boise, where I rented a car, […]
Cry Wolf
[It’s 4:00am. I enter the lobby of my apartment building after climbing down 8 flights of stairs. The fire alarm is sounding for the third time tonight.] Front desk: Hi, what can I do for you? Me: What do you mean “what can I do for you”? The freaking fire alarm is going off. Front desk: […]
Vampire Jammies
So, if you get bitten by a hot vampire, then you turn into a hot vampire too, right? Isn’t that the moral of all those Twilight stories? Pretty sure that’s right. (Unless, of course, you just die — but let’s focus on the positive here.) But what happens if the vampire that bites you is more “warm and cozy” […]
In which I rant about not having stuff that I want
I feel like I’m having a lesson in not being materialistic — and it’s driving me nuts. I blame every single maker of shower curtains in the world. When I was in Morocco, I bought a cute little kilim for my bathroom. The colors don’t quite go with the current decor but, I though, it’ll be fun to update […]
I can do hard things
Back in 2006 Elaine Dalton gave a talk that has stuck with me more than any other talk I’ve heard. Well, to be honest, the whole talk didn’t stick with me, just one line: Somebody, for some reason, adopted the phrase “I can do hard things” as their motto. I quickly forgot the context and […]
Trek, Day 2: Sleeping under the stars (or not)
We had the choice of sleeping in the tents (which were stiflingly hot and smelled like sheep) or under the stars. Since the windstorm by this time had died down, leaving an open sky and a light cooling breeze, we opted for the latter. As you can imagine, the spread of stars that you can […]
Marrakesh, Day 2: What we ate
Amanda and I take great pride in the food we eat and our ability to find delicious food (whether high-end or low) wherever we go. Not every day is a hit, though. For example, today was a disappointingly weak day as from a gastronomical perspective. Breakfast We started off with breakfast at the riad. A simple affair with […]
Marrakesh, Day 2: City streets
After reviewing my earlier posts, I resolved to do better at taking ordinary street shots. There’s no way to actually capture the feel of this city — the heat, the smells (good and bad), the insanity of traffic that doesn’t yield or brake for pedestrians (tourist and local alike). But pictures of the ordinary street […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 