Rain and Snow

Last night I went to bed to the pitter-patter of rain on the roof, looking out into the darkness, past the trees, long since stripped of their ruby red leaves. Against the silhouette of barren branches, and rain drops, i could make out the glowing capitol building and the washington monument. There was something comforting about being in my warm bed, wrapped in fleece blankets, looking out at the city, while outside it poured, and poured. Speaking of rain, I've recently been introduced to a song which has topped my charts, and has remained at the #1 spot for the past few days. If you haven't listened to this song, get ready, its beautiful.




Well,  I should get to some good stuff, I mean, I expect you'd like to hear some good stuff about what I've been up to this week, the notable events, the good and bad ones, etc. Well, the week was extremely busy, I'll start off with that, there were not many evenings that I had free to just chillax, put what little hair I have down, and just sit down on a couch and drink some hot chocolate.

Let me see, a couple of the highlights:

I wore a suit to a fund-raising dinner.
I ate some amazing appetizers
I "met" Joe Biden.
I learned how to call "AAA" in the event I need to be towed.
I heard about the "Yes-Men"
I spent a few hours practicing "I miss you" by Incubus on the piano
Ate dinner with some Jesuits
Went to an urgent care
Watched Good Will Hunting (one of the best movies I've ever seen, period)

I might update this tomorrow and add specifics, but we'll see..

Alright, I found a bit of time to continue and elaborate a bit on a few of the highlights. Tuesday we spent an evening at the "Ritz-Carleton" of Jesuit residences, Georgetown. Jeremy, our Jesuit Liaison, had already spent time showing us around the Dupont Circle Jesuit Residence, but had raved extensively about Georgetown, and had brought us to meet an accomplished Jesuit, Fr. Curry. Dinner was amazing, as usual, with a nice smorgasbord or dinner items including mussel pasta in a buttery cream sauce, strawberry cake, fresh chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, phenomenal bread, mmm, i'm beginning to salivate just thinking about it. It was nice to just sit around a table and talk about the work we were doing and hear from Fr. Curry about the number of projects he has been working on, including a theatrical program for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans to help them cope with PTSD and other war-related mental illnesses. Georgetown is also a fun place to just walk around. Being an institution founded in 1789, the architecture is stunning: Gothic and Georgian in style. I might have gotten a few chills looking up at the iconic Healy Hall, though it might have been caused by the 40 degree weather...

Wednesday was the night of our JVC fund-raising dinner. We might not have, as a house, been totally thrilled with going, as we were very tired, and usually our Tuesdays are low key, just hanging around, working to recoup all the energy lost during the first two days of work. But, we went, and did get a bit excited about dressing up. However, it was raining quite hard. Some of us went directly from work, while some came back home to get ready then took a bus. We all did end up on the same bus, and a little water-logged, got to the final stop and trudged the final two blocks to the hall. As we got there, we were greeted by the other DC house, and the JVC staff, we were given instructions on where to be, the format of the evening, and decided on a rotation so that some of us could eat while others took coats. I started talking with a few of the volunteers from the other DC house when we heard the buzz going around the room, Joe Biden was coming last minuted to the dinner to give a speech. Everyone was beside themselves. Well, he finally arrived with Secret Service in tow, all smiles, shaking hands, I may have been in a picture with him (he was facing away from me.) Everyone was getting so worked up about it that I just didn't care that much to get a picture with him, so I just carried on my other conversations and ate some delicious food, watching from afar the circle of people huddled around Joe move slowly around the room. I likened it to honey bees surrounding the queen, as she moves, everyone else moves with her.


So, that was the jist of the week. Briefly, I was able to meet up with a friend Zach that I had worked with the past two summers at CTY. It was so refreshing to catch up with him again and hear about all that has happened since we last saw each other. He's now looking forward to pilot school, as it has always been a life dream of his to be a pilot. He has this ridiculous attraction to planes, like he stares up the sky like a dog looks at a Frisbee. I'm just so glad for him that he's found his true calling, to be doing something that I know he will be happy doing.

Today has been pretty relaxing, I did a 8.5 mile run around town, and happened to run by the boathouse of Georgetown, George Washington, and like 3 other schools. I stopped to chat up a guy who looked like he was about to row in his single (crew speak for a 1 person boat), and learned about the place and that they were closing up shop for the season in a few days. Today was really beautiful though, sunny and incredibly brisk, like, REAL brisk. Like 32 degrees brisk. My route took me down to Mt. Vernon Square, down K street until I hit George Washington University, then down to Watergate and the Potomac. I wish I had brought a camera, the view from the boathouse was absolutely breathtaking as I looked up and down the river, from Georgetown down to Arlington. I could make out Theodore Roosevelt Island, where I had visited a few weeks before. I was a bit sore from my indoor soccer game yesterday and the cold weather didn't really help that much, but I made it all the way around and back, taking solace in a hot shower to bring some color back to my skin.

In the moment, I started thinking about how beautiful it is here (while at the same time, acknowledging the bitter cold) and wondered if I could see myself living here. The funny thing is, I think I could. Give me people I can spend time with, a group of friends, I can survive anywhere. I think that's what I learned from my experience in college, going to a place that I'd never lived before, and now I'm learning it once again here in DC. Some of the relationships I've formed here I know I will still have years from now, whether I stay here or not.

Oh ya, about the snow....it snowed yesterday (didn't really stick), as watched it from my room. (and that's my dog in some snow, I am kicking myself now for not taking any pictures of the white stuff yesterday, DOH)