Weekend #2

So this has been my second weekend in the Burg living on my own. It was a fun one! Before I begin I have a few updates for you readers out there - first, my Comcast wireless router has still not came in!! UGH!! and second, Hurricane Irene has come and gone and really did almost no damage in my area. I heard a bit of her wrath late last night but other than that we ended up with a very beautiful Sunday here!

So the first part of my weekend was spent in Washington, DC with my sorority sister Emily. She is an amazing inspirational confident woman who is also a terrific hostess!! I had such a great time Em!! I started on my short drive on Friday afternoon. The drive itself was an experience. I had such a feeling of independence when I was driving. It was kinda like the feeling I had when I first rode on an airplane without my parents. I felt completely on my own and in charge. It wasn't even scary! The drive is also very beautiful! A few times I tried taking pictures on my phone but it was a) slightly dangerous and b) the pics weren't turning out well. It did get a little difficult driving once I was in the city. Emily explained it so well - Everyone in DC is from somewhere else so everyone has different driving rules and habits. Put all that together and it just doesn't work well! Not to mention I could see the Washington Monument and I kept wanting to stare! I got goosebumps knowing I was so near such an incredible place.

Almost as soon as I got to the condo Emily is living in we jumped right into "doing DC stuff!" We walked to the Metro and I got a 24 hour metro pass. With Emily leading the way I felt like such a city girl! We were on our way to see the brand new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. It was opening weekend! (They had to cancel the dedication due to weather but over 30,000 people were coming for it! How lucky that I got to be there!) It took us awhile to find it because there is no signage up for it yet but on our way we got to walk down the whole Mall (which doesn't have any shops. It's just green space. Why is it called a Mall anyway? Em and I had a guy stop and ask us about it. We didn't have an answer for him!) So I got to walk by the WW2 Memorial, Abraham Lincoln, Washington Monument (which cracked during the earthquake and is now closed to the public! Crazy! They had it all blocked off and guarded.), the Korean War Monument, and finally ended up at MLK. You walk through the huge "mountain of despair" and once through it see the "rock of hope" where a large statue of MLK is engraved in the other side. Surrounding it all are quotes from different speeches he gave. It is such a good reminder that his amazing man didn't just have one dream he had so many. Lots of my favorite quotes were from a Norway speech. He was on his game there!! I was so happy I got to see it and witness others around me who this meant so much to. I heard it looks very beautiful in the evening when it is lit up but all of the monuments are majestic then!

After the monument we walked back around the Basin on our way home. It was such a great little expedition! When we got back to the condo to get ready for dinner I felt a little weak and queasy but rested and had a glass of water then felt much better. Emily had me choose from two different restaurants that only have a few selected locations. And ohmigosh! It was a hard choice! Both menus were fantastic! We ended up choosing a place called MatchBox that only has locations around DC. The one we went to was in Chinatown! Fun! It has fire baked pizzas and of course, I noticed the scallops on the menu! I was really excited until I hit a tiny speed bump. After getting off the metro and waiting for a table to be ready I started to not feel well. I felt terrible. And poor Emily, I was awful company as well! I ended up snagging a bar stool while we waiting and concentrated on taking deep breaths. I needed something to settle my stomach. Dearest reader, you won't believe this, I got motion sick on the metro!! ((This is so crazy because the last time my family came to DC all of us (and by all of us I mean me and mom) got sick on the plane and then getting on the metro right after made us sick again for our first night in the city!)) Well ladies and gentlemen, some things never change. I was motion sick. As soon as we sat down I ordered a Sprite, handed Emily my purse, and then ran to the restroom. I couldn't even look at the menu without the words spinning on me. Luckily no one else was in there! (Sorry to get a bit graphic on you all but..) After vomiting anything that was left in my stomach, dry heaving a few times, washing my face and hands, gargling water, and popping in a quick mint I felt so much better!! It was like night and day. After getting sick I was like a different person! I drank down my Sprite (which has never tasted better in my entire life), laughed it off, and then dove into the menu! There were so many choices but I didn't want something too heavy since we would have ride on the metro again. Emily and I split a large pizza with fresh crushed tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil strips, and a sprinkle of sea salt. It was delicious! It was so flavorful and salty - just what I like! If I went back I think I would have a hard time ordering anything else. Their dessert looked lovely as well but I was full and we were going out to meet some of Emily's new friends. (She met them in a KD Alumna chapter so they were all KD's too!)

Back on the metro again we came up with some strategies to help me not get sick:
1) Look straight ahead while sitting in the direction the tram is going.
2) Focus on something like the window pane divider (not the people in the car in front of you.)
3) Don't nod your head and look over to make eye contact during conversation.
4) Take deep breaths.

They worked! I didn't get sick! I did however order a martini that had vodka, triple sec, orange juice, pineapple juice, and sweet and sour mix. Lots and lots of acidic flavors! My throat was already raw from my stomach acid and this combined with that was painful! Emily so wonderfully just told the waitress that "it didn't taste good and to please take it off our check." Ah, I love her! I was about to waste a $12 martini and she so beautifully saved the day! (And that is how much all of the drinks at that place cost so no, I just don't have expensive tendencies :) After the group split up Emily and I walked around the area and ended up sitting by a fountain talking and people watching. It was such a nice evening! AND - no rain at all!!

The next morning we headed out for some market shopping and brunch. I have a new found love for farmer's markets and this one was no different! It was slightly sprinkling but that didn't stop us! At this market you can taste some of the fresh fruit and veggies that the sellers have samples of. It was so yummy! Emily has a regular farmer she normally buys from but I figured since I was a visitor I could still have a few tastes of the other farmer's crops! Another lady there hand sews lots of different bags, keychains, wallets, purses, etc. in tons of different fun and bright prints! I loved her items! I wanted so many different things but settled on a tan and green wristlet. That will certainly be my regular stop at the DC farmer's market. There was a man there who was selling freshwater pearl jewelry as well. He was putting together the pieces sitting right there. Since my "everyday" earrings broke while I was moving in and my mom has them at home I looked for a replacement pair. I found some lovely light pink pearl studs for - get this - $5!! I love them!

We also walked through Eastern Market which has lots of different shops, but these are permanently placed. There was a bakery, butcher, fishmonger (isn't that what a fish butcher is called?), fresh pasta shop, cheese, olives, and even things in between! So fun! We also wanted to go to the flea market which was nearby but the rain by then had caused people to close up. Didn't stop us though! Next we went to brunch and both had very yummy meals. The oatmeal I got could have been made by Paula Dean herself it was so creamy and buttery and delicious. Afterwards we also stopped a gelato place and tried a sample there. The guy working was from Cincinnati! I love meeting people from home.

While Emily's condo was very nice she was only planning on staying there temporarily. I happened to be lucky enough to go with her to see her new apartment that she'll move into in September! Her landlady is sweet as a button. The neighborhood is safe and she is in walking distance of a park, corner shop, church, the farmer's market, and of course, the metro! She won't have a car later this fall and I do hope she is able to visit Hburg before then! Thanks so much for having me, Emily! I loved being with you!

So I was for sure that DC would be the highlight of my weekend but I had a wonderful spiritually experience this morning at church and I just feel the need to share it. It starts off with waking up too late to make it to my normal mass time. Luckily I remembered that the student group on campus starts up hosting mass again today. I quickly got ready and rushed to get there! When I walked in there were students standing around saying "good morning" and "welcome to mass!" They were so obviously so happy! Father stopped me inside and introduced himself as Father Jim and then asked my name. He also asked if I was new to the area and gave me a very warm welcome. Mass was taking place in a large room in a house near campus. It is called the CCM House (Catholic Campus Ministries). Some students were wearing tshirts that said "Why go Greek when you can go Roman?" on the back of them. I thought it was a cute idea. (Although, I think you can do both!) The whole room filled up and Father had to ask everyone to scoot to one side to make room. What a flourishing community! (It wasn't even a holiday and we had to squish!) Students led the entire ministry - lectors, ushers, musical instruments, singing, Eucharistic ministers. Father Jim was so enthusiastic as well. He spoke about how he has dedicated his life to being a priest for young people and the past three months he has had no people, no congregation. It was evident how filled with joy he was to be able to do what he loved to do again. He also gave out his cell phone number because he is committed to being there for students 24/7. I also found out that the house where mass was held has a meeting room upstairs, a student lounge (with computers, couches, tables, big screen TV, Wii, Netflicks), and a Blessed Sacrament chapel. The house is opened from about 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM. When I heard I could visit the chapel during any of those times tears came to eyes. Being able to spend quiet time with the Lord is what I needed throughout my senior year and I had been hoping to continue it. It was like the Holy Spirit had led me to this mass so I could see and learn about the community right at the very beginning. Father also mentioned how during his office hours he is also available for confession (or by appointment or the scheduled time of course.) There is also a Mary Garden fenced off in the backyard for student prayer use as well.

I am just in awe of this faith community. I have never seen anything like it before. The CCM is also a student organization on campus so they have an executive board of members who are in charge of different committees. They have Women's and Men's group and bible study once a week. They have a group rosary and service at the soup kitchen once a week as well. There are three weekday masses (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday) plus three masses every Sunday. (Father said that on the weekday masses they have about 40 people there - and these are students! How wonderful! The Sunday mass I thought was crowded in the house but one of the evening mass times is offered in a conference room on campus because it has such a large congregation.) On Friday's they have social get togethers. I know that I would like to take part in some of their activities but this is mainly undergraduate students who are participating. I just want to be careful what I decide to attend or not. Either way, attending such a vibrant mass and knowing the Blessed Sacrament is available makes me feel very blessed. Here is another example of when I was touched by being there. At the end of mass Father stood on the back porch to say hello/good bye to everyone. No one walked around to leave quickly. Every person waited in line to shake hands with or hug Father. He knew their names! And if he didn't he was asking and then introducing new comers to others. I was so happy to be able to tell him how inspired I was after hearing about their ministry there. It was certainly a wonderful way to start off my week! (One of the songs we sang was a Dana song. Does anyone in my family remember when we went to her concert in Cincinnati? The words to the song came back to me so quickly. I must have heard it a lot in my past!)

Tomorrow I have my first graduate school course! I'm excited! I'm nervous about parking in the morning for my staff meeting though. This will be my first time on campus with lots of students. I'm planning on getting there very early! I'm looking forward to processing my thoughts and letting everyone know how things go this week! I do have homework for my Wednesday and Thursday classes. I need to read an article and write a poem about myself. The poem is a model from a Kentucky author and I have written (even taught people how to write them) many of them in the past. Every time I write one it describes a different part of me. Maybe I'll post the one I wrote for this class for all of you?

xoxo