the killer b's

My friend Dan asked me to pet-/house-sit for him this past weekend as he went gallivanting home to Michigan. I immediately said yes as one of his dogs, Bobby, has a total human-crush on me and makes me feel like the most important human in his dog-world nearly every time I see him (though I'm sure he does that to all the girls!).

The three of them – Bobby and Brisco (the most adoring dogs ever) and Baxter (the most chill cat ever) – welcomed me into their home and treated me like a queen. I woke up both mornings with Bobby sleepin’ on the bed by my side, Baxter snoozin’ at my feet, and Brisco chillin’ out on the floor right next to the bed. I felt so loved!

So, here are some fun pics I took of the Bobby, Brisco, and Baxter … aka “The Killer B’s."

Peace.


Here is Baxter looking quite debonair as he relaxes from a long, hard cat-day.


Meet Brisco! He just finished sun-bathing for a bit.


This is Bobby posing for the camera. (He so totally posed ... it was funny!)

Now that I just finished writing this post, I think I need to get a dog!

a dual signature

I walked home backwards today. People driving past me on 13th thought I was nuts. But the occasional pedestrian understood what had my attention. It was one of those days where the sun was shining bright yet rain was steadily hitting the ground. And, in the distance toward a clear blue opening was a rainbow inside of another rainbow. A dual Signature to remind me. Of a lot.

I turned a year older this past weekend. It was the first day of summertime and the longest day of the year, as it is always. And it was a day casting down 30’s shadow. But it wasn’t Father’s Day as it was 20-something years ago. It reminded me of Father’s Day, though. Appropriately, in myriad of ways.

The weekend was spent decently … I went out on U-Street Friday night with some fellow interns looking for some sweet live tunes. We wound up with a few beers and cigarettes instead … not too shabby. Saturday was spent shopping for non-cancer-causing water containers and a trip to a somewhat familiar Whole Foods (though not the same experience as 6th and Lamar). (Oh the irony of a “yes” to cigarettes and a “no” to heated Nalgene water-bottles.)

I marked the rest of the day, and the end of its sunshine on this year’s longest day, by lounging on Thomas Jefferson’s steps watching the orange sky fade into the West and a lightning storm approach from across the Potomac. I’m not gonna lie – it was good.

The birthday weekend concluded with a hike in Maryland with some folks from work while the rest of the day I prayed for the weekend to grow longer. It decided not to, but was a decent package of joy in my new town.

I hope your Summer Solstice was beautifully spent! (Try to walk home backwards someday … especially when you see what I saw … People thought I was a fool until they looked up too!)

Peace.

(Here is a picture of a beautiful rainbow I happened-on while driving between Austin and B/CS this past Fall.)

green-leafed trees & big blue skies ...

I miss the blues and the greens. I don’t know if it’s because DC has been teasing me with Spring-like weather these past couple of days and/or if it’s just because I’m living in a city, with all of its sirens and smog. But I miss those blues and greens from the Academic Building’s lawn as I would lie looking up through the green leaves to the big blue sky, soaking energy from the Texas sunshine. And I miss Austin. The music. The vibe. The openness. Though I haven’t lived there in a year, that city has my heart … I miss it so.

BUT … DC has definitely become, and is becoming more and more every week, my new home! Woo hoo!

While I miss Austin and definitely the community of family and friends throughout Texas, I have felt so ALIVE from the diversity of the District. (I remember when my sister and I arrived in Berkeley moving her into San Francisco and were walking around that hip town. I paused to breathe in the atmosphere and asked her, “Can’t you just smell the diversity?!” That’s what it smells like here … it’s a beautiful smell.)

All-in-all the past 5 weeks (can you believe it’s already been 5 weeks?) has zoomed past me at record speed. It has been filled with plenty of socially awkward moments at work, long walks throughout the city streets, metro-riding randomness, and anywhere from 72-degree-breezy-days to 99-degree-humid-days. We’ve even had a couple of tornado scares at work (I thought I left Tornado Alley?!).

So, work. Interning is a pretty sweet deal. The internship program is well organized and I’m pretty much treated like a full-time regular employee with the perks to match. The folks in my branch are pretty chill and dig sweet tunes like me (they’ve provided me with some solid music-advice lately). I’m meeting a lot of UMD grad students/fellow summer interns (one of whom I’ll be TA-ing with in the Fall) and a couple of other interns as well. Also, I’ve clicked with a couple of girls already, so it’s nice to have the beginnings and/or potential of/for friendships so soon. We’ve all bonded over mid-20’s ambiguity/quarter-life crises, the hell of grad school, and constantly living in a state of risky transition. And we’ve bonded over the non-stop socially awkward encounters that occur daily at work (for being sociologists, we sure are a socially awkward group of folks!). But, work is a sweet deal so far, and I’m grateful for the opportunity and networks that is/are being established.

School. I’ve been up to UMD once since I moved out here. It’s such a beautiful campus! I’m registered for two classes already and just have to sign up for one more. One of my classes is with a prof I’ve idolized since I was an undergrad, so I’m particularly excited about taking her class this Fall! BUT – until then – I’m totally reveling in the summertime … the calm before the storm.

Neighborhood. Can I just say(?) I made the BEST neighborhood decision yet! (Other than Hyde Park and Pease Park in Austin-town). Oh my goodness … this is such a buzzing area and is in GREAT walking distance to so much of DC (the non-touristy-cool- stuff that is). The area is way diverse (which I love – SO SO SO different from B/CS (thank God!)) and is only going to keep growing. There’s a good mix of families, young couples, older folks, and 20/30-something hipsters to keep it all real. I walk nearly every day between Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan (names of neighborhoods) and recently joined a sports club down the road. Hey, I need to attract these hipster boys somehow, right?! (Tom Rich – you can put your joke in here now!).

That’s about it so far. Just learning and growing and keeping up with it all one day at a time.

I’m going to try to keep this blog updated as much as possible. I want to say a once-a-week update is my goal, but I’m hesitant to keep that promise (if you know me well, you know that I’m a true flake (but, for some reason, you love me anyway ;-) )). BUT, I think I’m finally going to splurge for a digital camera (it’s about time, don’t ‘ya think?), so I hope to be posting pictures, etc., of DC-adventures. Also, like with my old blog (which I’m going to take off the www soon), I’ll put up links to cool websites of news, organizations, friends’ blogs, and what-have-you. It’ll take a while to build, ONLY because I don’t want to stare at the computer when I’m not at work. So please have patience with me and stop by when you can! And please comment … I’d love to hear from you!

Also, I wanted to share this: The last thing I did before leaving B/CS was go to a very dear spot for a very dear friend and, as of 6-months ago this past week, for me too. There was a Bible in the room and it was open to Isaiah 55. Not knowing what else to do, I read the chapter and this is what a verse from it said:

“You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and the trees of the field
will clap their hands.”
-Isaiah 55:12

How appropriately life-giving for such a particularly transitional life-moment?!

So, that said, many blessings to you on today’s adventure(s) and may you go out in joy and be led forth in peace with nature beckoning you welcome.

Maybe now I’ll go find an ideal green-leafed tree to lie under and gaze into the District’s big blue sky!

Peace and Love.

Oh, and welcome to my blog!