Lots of plans for the weekend ahead....what exactly will all play out is still questionable, but you can be sure for lots of pictures of all of Fourth of July craziness coming up this weekend/week. And I haven't forgotten about posting pictures from the Kennedy Center yet. I also have some pictures of a wild game of Texas Hold 'Em Poker- played with various cereals as our chips. Entertaining indeed!
More to come soon!
Stephanie
Friday, June 30, 2006
Thursday, June 29, 2006
SUN- What is that??
We saw the sun Wednesday!! And as I sit here this morning getting ready for work I see it again!! Yay! I am so happy...altough the weather report shows rain again this afternoon and evening.
On a more random note, it seems like there is a hot air balloon outside my window! I know I am crazy, but there is this noise that reminds me of one....the memories of waking up to the sounds of hot air balloons outside my window. Speaking of which- the Hot Air balloon festival starts this week at home. Though I haven't gone to the event the last few years- I have still got to see all the ballloons. I guess I'll have to find something fun to do to compare it!
That's all for now, it was a late night last night doing some work and I gotta finish getting ready for work.....today is Thursday! yay!!! But also a busy day at work......
Stephanie
On a more random note, it seems like there is a hot air balloon outside my window! I know I am crazy, but there is this noise that reminds me of one....the memories of waking up to the sounds of hot air balloons outside my window. Speaking of which- the Hot Air balloon festival starts this week at home. Though I haven't gone to the event the last few years- I have still got to see all the ballloons. I guess I'll have to find something fun to do to compare it!
That's all for now, it was a late night last night doing some work and I gotta finish getting ready for work.....today is Thursday! yay!!! But also a busy day at work......
Stephanie
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
I asked for it...
I guess it is my fault, and I asked for this horrible weather. Check out the artcile on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/06/27/east.flood.ap/index.html. Ya, Washington D.C. has seen a TON of rain in the last week, and especially the last 3 days. It has been absolutely crazy-like around here...flooding left and right. Monday morning I got to work only to find nobody there yet at 8:45am which is very odd. One of the staff is always there by 7:45am. So I went downstairs and had some breakfast at the cafe before going back up to see if anyone was in yet. Nope. Nothing. And it was then I began to wonder if we had an all staff meeting off-site that I forgot about, or if we just had the day off and I was left out of the loop. I didn't want to sit in the hallway waiting to get in so I went and sat downstairs again at the Cafe and read my book I bought at the bookstore a few days ago. About a half hour later I went back up. I ran into a guy from the office next to us and he let me in through their office (the office connect, but we aren't supposed to enter each others' office area). I got in and the Executive Director had just made it in too. It was only the two of us for a while. Two staff were already off, and one couldnt make it in because of flooding (he takes the commuter train from West Virginia every day), and oher staff were late due to all the metro closures and flooding. It was an interesting day as I learned to juggle 3 peoples' jobs (as an intern!!). It sure was a crazy long day.
To make it longer we had a program to attend at the Kennedy Center as part of the NSCS program that evening from 830pm-????? A bunch of us excused ourselves sometime around 1030pm or later because we hadn't even been home since the wee-hours in the a.m. before work. We were drenched from the pouring down, soaking rain all day, and we were freezing from sitting in the air conditioning. And we wonder why we are all getting sick! And to add to everything, there is no easy or direct way to get home from the Kennedy Center, so we walked....that's right, WALKED the entire way! Here's a map of the whereabouts we walked. It was kind of a zip-zagged pattern and mob of 10 college kids walking down the streets of town.....entertaining indeed-especially in the rain again part way!
Well, I will post pictures from the Kennedy Center another night. For now, I am calling it an early night....if 11:45pm is EARLY?!?!??!?!?
Stephanie
To make it longer we had a program to attend at the Kennedy Center as part of the NSCS program that evening from 830pm-????? A bunch of us excused ourselves sometime around 1030pm or later because we hadn't even been home since the wee-hours in the a.m. before work. We were drenched from the pouring down, soaking rain all day, and we were freezing from sitting in the air conditioning. And we wonder why we are all getting sick! And to add to everything, there is no easy or direct way to get home from the Kennedy Center, so we walked....that's right, WALKED the entire way! Here's a map of the whereabouts we walked. It was kind of a zip-zagged pattern and mob of 10 college kids walking down the streets of town.....entertaining indeed-especially in the rain again part way!
Well, I will post pictures from the Kennedy Center another night. For now, I am calling it an early night....if 11:45pm is EARLY?!?!??!?!?
Stephanie
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Pictures!
As promised here are some pictures from the last few days...(remember to see the pictures biger you can click on them!)
Jenny and I just spent the afternoon at the National BBQ. It was pretty cool...it was $10 to get in, and then there were TONS of free food. Most of the food was from different companies and stores like Safeway Grocery Stores, Planters Peanuts, and various meat companies. It was well worth the $10 for the amount of food and gorging. This first picture is of the Safeway tent that had all the free samples in it. It was so big. We could hardly finish one thing before getting to the next table of food. We decided it couldn't be that healthy to encourage the thousands of people who went through there this weekend to eat that fast...
Next is a photo I took on our walk from Georgetown to Rosslyn, Virginia to get to the metro to go to the National BBQ. All I can say is somebody had ONE BIG PARTY!! haha..
Next are a few pictures of Jenny and I at the BBQ.... :)
Next, a few pictures from our fun in the rain on Saturday night...there will be more to come as soon as Pat emails me them since they are from his camera.
(Pat was running back and forth trying to get in this picture...dumb luck.
Now he's gotta pose for a nice picture. :)
Finally to end, a picture of me in my suit on Friday...just so everyone can see my good looks!! haha.
Jenny and I just spent the afternoon at the National BBQ. It was pretty cool...it was $10 to get in, and then there were TONS of free food. Most of the food was from different companies and stores like Safeway Grocery Stores, Planters Peanuts, and various meat companies. It was well worth the $10 for the amount of food and gorging. This first picture is of the Safeway tent that had all the free samples in it. It was so big. We could hardly finish one thing before getting to the next table of food. We decided it couldn't be that healthy to encourage the thousands of people who went through there this weekend to eat that fast...
Next is a photo I took on our walk from Georgetown to Rosslyn, Virginia to get to the metro to go to the National BBQ. All I can say is somebody had ONE BIG PARTY!! haha..
Next are a few pictures of Jenny and I at the BBQ.... :)
Next, a few pictures from our fun in the rain on Saturday night...there will be more to come as soon as Pat emails me them since they are from his camera.
(Pat was running back and forth trying to get in this picture...dumb luck.
Now he's gotta pose for a nice picture. :)
Finally to end, a picture of me in my suit on Friday...just so everyone can see my good looks!! haha.
Rain Rain - GO AWAY!!!
My theme for the post is kind of irony. I wanted it to rain, but it just rained too late! The service event was on yesterday due to overcast and partly sunny skies but NO RAIN! We did alot of work, but the event wasn't well planned. 60 people, one yard to landscape/lay sod in, and one front of a building to basically lay new mulch in and plant a few things somehow is just not 7 hours of work for us. We finished everything before lunch, and half of us were sitting on the steps just watching after about an hour worth of work because the yard was so tiny that only about a dozen people had anything to do. Oh well. We were home around 230pm which was nice instead of 430pm. I think every single person probably took a well-needed and deserved shower within a couple hours of returning- I know I took one within 5 minutes! :) Did a couple hours of computer work, and then I tried to take a nap only to be awaken (as usual) by one of the guys calling my cell phone. Then I am almost asleep again and the other comes pounding on our door (the two weren't communicating very well on plans for the night with us). So I gave up on my nap and just got up.
The plan for the night (after much deliberation) was to go down to Capitol Hill and the National Mall area. Supposidly there was a free movie playing somewhere down there. Well, we finally got to Dupont Circle to get on another bus instead of paying for the metro to get down there (bus transfer are free) and it was sprinkling. We got stuck under some scaffolding for about 20-25 minutes because it was downpouring so hard. The scaffolding proved to not be the most solid thing, as it was very leaky and we still got pretty wet along with the other bunch of people under it. Funny story....so the whole time it is thundering and lightening and raining cats and dogs we are standing across from a CVS Pharmacy. So when it let up a little we made a run for it and were going to buy umbrellas. We didn't take ours because it didn't appear that it was going to rain- after all, we planned on going to a movie outside! So I wonder if the price stickers change when it rains like this, but an umbrella was $10! I was willing to get wet rather than pay for that, so Jenny bought one and we moved on. We had to stop at Krisy Kreme donuts so John could get a hot one that was just made. Then as we walk out a guy was chasing us down with a wheeled cart of umbrellas saying "% dolla- 5 dollar!!!". Jenny was a little peeved. We continued walking through the rain (fairly heavy at times) to find the Greek restaurant that a lady told us was in Dupont. Well, we never found it, and as it rained harder and harder we ended up just going to Fuddruckers for a couple of hours and having dinner and talking. We tried to come up with ideas of things to do even though it was raining but weren't successful. Bowling was considered, but nobody had socks on! Thus, we ended up back here at the apartments and watched Kill Bill 2 (Kill Bill 1 was last weekend). I have to admit though, after about a half hour of it, I laid down on their floor and slept through most of the movie. Good times though all around.
Today, it is raining. We can't decide what to do. I would really like to do SOMETHING other than be lazy. My laundry is currently almost done which I am proud of. Laundry is so much easier and quicker to do when you do it on a regular basis, unlike at my apartment at school. :) There's talk of going to the National BBQ and checking out the festivities, visiting some Smithsonians (like every tourist will be today since it is raining), or maybe checking out the zoo. Who knows, but only time will tell.
Back to the beginning of my post and my comment about the irony in my title...well I know the last post I made was WANTING it to rain, but now I just want it to stop. It came too late to do any good. Oh well...life will go on and we will find SOEMTHING to do. For now, it is time to finish my laundry and figure out what others are up to on this gloomy Sunday....
Until next time....(I'll post some photos from the last couple days when i download them tonight)
Stephanie
The plan for the night (after much deliberation) was to go down to Capitol Hill and the National Mall area. Supposidly there was a free movie playing somewhere down there. Well, we finally got to Dupont Circle to get on another bus instead of paying for the metro to get down there (bus transfer are free) and it was sprinkling. We got stuck under some scaffolding for about 20-25 minutes because it was downpouring so hard. The scaffolding proved to not be the most solid thing, as it was very leaky and we still got pretty wet along with the other bunch of people under it. Funny story....so the whole time it is thundering and lightening and raining cats and dogs we are standing across from a CVS Pharmacy. So when it let up a little we made a run for it and were going to buy umbrellas. We didn't take ours because it didn't appear that it was going to rain- after all, we planned on going to a movie outside! So I wonder if the price stickers change when it rains like this, but an umbrella was $10! I was willing to get wet rather than pay for that, so Jenny bought one and we moved on. We had to stop at Krisy Kreme donuts so John could get a hot one that was just made. Then as we walk out a guy was chasing us down with a wheeled cart of umbrellas saying "% dolla- 5 dollar!!!". Jenny was a little peeved. We continued walking through the rain (fairly heavy at times) to find the Greek restaurant that a lady told us was in Dupont. Well, we never found it, and as it rained harder and harder we ended up just going to Fuddruckers for a couple of hours and having dinner and talking. We tried to come up with ideas of things to do even though it was raining but weren't successful. Bowling was considered, but nobody had socks on! Thus, we ended up back here at the apartments and watched Kill Bill 2 (Kill Bill 1 was last weekend). I have to admit though, after about a half hour of it, I laid down on their floor and slept through most of the movie. Good times though all around.
Today, it is raining. We can't decide what to do. I would really like to do SOMETHING other than be lazy. My laundry is currently almost done which I am proud of. Laundry is so much easier and quicker to do when you do it on a regular basis, unlike at my apartment at school. :) There's talk of going to the National BBQ and checking out the festivities, visiting some Smithsonians (like every tourist will be today since it is raining), or maybe checking out the zoo. Who knows, but only time will tell.
Back to the beginning of my post and my comment about the irony in my title...well I know the last post I made was WANTING it to rain, but now I just want it to stop. It came too late to do any good. Oh well...life will go on and we will find SOEMTHING to do. For now, it is time to finish my laundry and figure out what others are up to on this gloomy Sunday....
Until next time....(I'll post some photos from the last couple days when i download them tonight)
Stephanie
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Our poor Ketchup!
Our poor ketchup was stolen and held for hostage, and we received notification via a "mysterious" letter slipped under the door. Here's the entertaining, but sad letter we received.
It's been a pretty jam--packed week. Tuesday evening was uneventful except fopr the ketchup kidnapping, and we watched a Natoinal Geographic Channel documentary Holly brought home on the guys' tv in their apartment, and ate Kettle Corn (there's your hint at who was the "mysterious" person with the ketchup).
Wednesday was a day we all looked foward to. We had planned it out. After work we all walked to Georgetown (all being the roomies and I). Jenny and I met up first for a few pre-drinks during Happy Hour (CHEAP drinks are good!), then Holly met up with us when she got out of work and had a drink to end out the Happy Hour evening. We ended up spending most of the evening down in Georgetown though at Old Glory just hanging out and talking to people we met, and a friend from our program that was there. Good times.
Thursday brought good and bad. Good because only 2 more days till the weekend. Bad because we had class from 7-930pm after work. Ughh.
In regards to working/interning...I have been extremely busy going in like 50 million directions it seems like. One thing that has its ups and downs but often frustrates me is that the staff has "discovered" if you will the little computer nerd that lives inside my head. It's not like totally off the way logitical or programming things they are asking, just common sense things. It frustrates me because people are constantly 'consulting' with me or having me do something for them. And nice me drops what I am doing instantly to go save them. I don't mean to sound negative, it is just distracting to the things I am supposed to be doing. As soon as I finish writing this I am going to go sit down and work on some reading I have to do. I have the latest survey report from the nursing home I visited on Monday with all of their deficiencies. It is a long 40 pages, and very interesting.
Of course because of my background with nursing homes, I can't help but compare them. But I can honestly say the facility at home that is my life, (even when I am away at school) is one of the top-notch nursing homes in the area that I am yet to visit and experience. This internship has really opened my eyes to the horrible living conditions that exist in so many homes across the country. It is one thing to 'know' these things are happening, but to read true stories and see pictures of the abuse and neglect and other issues that are happening, it is heartbreaking to me and has become so realistic. Better yet, to talk to a family member with first hand experience, or to visit a facility such as the one earlier this week with an Ombudsman and to experience both sides of the situation. As I think I had mentioned before, the Ombudsman who took me gave me no background on the operation and previous annuals surveys of this facility. I met with many top administrative staff throughout the afternoon and gathered my own opinions, then afterwards the Ombudsman told me the other side of the stories....interesting what a facility tries to hide sometimes.
Well, to end this let me just express my feelings about this coming weekend, and then I'll talk more about it after the fact. Myself and everyone else in the program is just OVERJOYED because we have a mandatory community service event on Saturday. Ok that's fine but it is a little ridiculous that it is for 7 hours. Wait, it gets better....Washington, D.C. + 90+ degrees + possible severe storms + LANDSCAPING for 7 hours = bad. I can only imagine the mood we will all be in when we are done. We'll see who doesn't go out on Saturday night after a nap. What Sunday will bring.....who knows!
Finally, here are a couple pictures of Jenny and I from Wednesday night in Georgetown. The first is a picture at this really cute garden bar. Then second is us in this fancy bathroom trying to take a picture of ourselves, but I was covering my face. We didn't stay at that place, just used the nice bathrooms...it was called "Sea Catch" and the bar had Oysters and other fishy things on ice in front of us. For some reason after sinking in mud in Florida sailing a year or two ago and getting many Oyster scrapes and cuts, and a couple scars to show, I had no desire to sit there. lol. Goodnight all....any early day at work tomorrow (730 or 8ish) so I can leave at 4pm--- Zip is in town!! Well, for less than a day, but we are meeting for dinner at the airport before her flight.
Stephanie
It's been a pretty jam--packed week. Tuesday evening was uneventful except fopr the ketchup kidnapping, and we watched a Natoinal Geographic Channel documentary Holly brought home on the guys' tv in their apartment, and ate Kettle Corn (there's your hint at who was the "mysterious" person with the ketchup).
Wednesday was a day we all looked foward to. We had planned it out. After work we all walked to Georgetown (all being the roomies and I). Jenny and I met up first for a few pre-drinks during Happy Hour (CHEAP drinks are good!), then Holly met up with us when she got out of work and had a drink to end out the Happy Hour evening. We ended up spending most of the evening down in Georgetown though at Old Glory just hanging out and talking to people we met, and a friend from our program that was there. Good times.
Thursday brought good and bad. Good because only 2 more days till the weekend. Bad because we had class from 7-930pm after work. Ughh.
In regards to working/interning...I have been extremely busy going in like 50 million directions it seems like. One thing that has its ups and downs but often frustrates me is that the staff has "discovered" if you will the little computer nerd that lives inside my head. It's not like totally off the way logitical or programming things they are asking, just common sense things. It frustrates me because people are constantly 'consulting' with me or having me do something for them. And nice me drops what I am doing instantly to go save them. I don't mean to sound negative, it is just distracting to the things I am supposed to be doing. As soon as I finish writing this I am going to go sit down and work on some reading I have to do. I have the latest survey report from the nursing home I visited on Monday with all of their deficiencies. It is a long 40 pages, and very interesting.
Of course because of my background with nursing homes, I can't help but compare them. But I can honestly say the facility at home that is my life, (even when I am away at school) is one of the top-notch nursing homes in the area that I am yet to visit and experience. This internship has really opened my eyes to the horrible living conditions that exist in so many homes across the country. It is one thing to 'know' these things are happening, but to read true stories and see pictures of the abuse and neglect and other issues that are happening, it is heartbreaking to me and has become so realistic. Better yet, to talk to a family member with first hand experience, or to visit a facility such as the one earlier this week with an Ombudsman and to experience both sides of the situation. As I think I had mentioned before, the Ombudsman who took me gave me no background on the operation and previous annuals surveys of this facility. I met with many top administrative staff throughout the afternoon and gathered my own opinions, then afterwards the Ombudsman told me the other side of the stories....interesting what a facility tries to hide sometimes.
Well, to end this let me just express my feelings about this coming weekend, and then I'll talk more about it after the fact. Myself and everyone else in the program is just OVERJOYED because we have a mandatory community service event on Saturday. Ok that's fine but it is a little ridiculous that it is for 7 hours. Wait, it gets better....Washington, D.C. + 90+ degrees + possible severe storms + LANDSCAPING for 7 hours = bad. I can only imagine the mood we will all be in when we are done. We'll see who doesn't go out on Saturday night after a nap. What Sunday will bring.....who knows!
Finally, here are a couple pictures of Jenny and I from Wednesday night in Georgetown. The first is a picture at this really cute garden bar. Then second is us in this fancy bathroom trying to take a picture of ourselves, but I was covering my face. We didn't stay at that place, just used the nice bathrooms...it was called "Sea Catch" and the bar had Oysters and other fishy things on ice in front of us. For some reason after sinking in mud in Florida sailing a year or two ago and getting many Oyster scrapes and cuts, and a couple scars to show, I had no desire to sit there. lol. Goodnight all....any early day at work tomorrow (730 or 8ish) so I can leave at 4pm--- Zip is in town!! Well, for less than a day, but we are meeting for dinner at the airport before her flight.
Stephanie
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Where has the week gone?!?
Wow- I can't believe it is already almost Wednesday. It seems like I get through the week taking it one day at a time, and counting down the days until the weekend. Monday night we actually kept busy with a few different things, including storm watching (and seeing Holly coming home looking like she took a shower with her clothes on- hair dripping and all). That'll teach her to take an umbrella, even is there's only a 30% chance of showers. Hahha...anyways.
So Monday I had a unique opportunity, and went with a State Ombudsman to visit a nursing home in Bethesda, Maryland. I absolutely loved the opportunity to see the facility from that prospective. It was nice because the Ombudsman did a good job of not giving me too much information to sway my judgement of the place before we went, but giving me enough information to understand things. We had quite a long visit at the facility taking care of various things. I also got the chance to chat with the Administrator for about an hour about Maryland Nursing Home Adminsitrator licensing and some other things. To sum up my visit I left the place in shock about many things regarding resident care, the way things were run, the way staffing is handled, the way the administrator acts as an administrator and so much more. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad, but it defintely wasn't all good.
I headed home on the Metro just in time to get to walk in the pouring rain, I luckily ALWAYS keep my umbrella in my bag I carry with me everyday. Monday evening went suprisingly quick as I said. Laundry was a must on the agenda, but I didn't want to pay for the washer or have to haul stuff downstairs and back up so instead I did things the old fashioned way- hand washing. Yes, believe it or not I hand washed all of my shirts and underwear items from the previous week. I figured I didn't have enough strength left to ring out my pants and those weren't a necessity for the week as I have lots of pants. Later we tried to be ambitious and actually read our books for class tonight, but that was soon interrupted. I called John to borrow one of his books and he brought it down and then we ended up talking for over an hour and before we knew it...it was midnight- WAY past our 10:30pm usual bedtime...and it is getting late again tonight.
Today went fairly well, though we were all dead tired after working all day and then having to turn around and go to class from 7-930pm. After that we went up to the guys' room to get our ketchup that was being held for ransom back, and we watched a National Geographic Channel movie on MS13 Gangs. Very interesting and frieghtening! Now its late and time for bed, so until next time... Happy Reading!!
Stephanie
So Monday I had a unique opportunity, and went with a State Ombudsman to visit a nursing home in Bethesda, Maryland. I absolutely loved the opportunity to see the facility from that prospective. It was nice because the Ombudsman did a good job of not giving me too much information to sway my judgement of the place before we went, but giving me enough information to understand things. We had quite a long visit at the facility taking care of various things. I also got the chance to chat with the Administrator for about an hour about Maryland Nursing Home Adminsitrator licensing and some other things. To sum up my visit I left the place in shock about many things regarding resident care, the way things were run, the way staffing is handled, the way the administrator acts as an administrator and so much more. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad, but it defintely wasn't all good.
I headed home on the Metro just in time to get to walk in the pouring rain, I luckily ALWAYS keep my umbrella in my bag I carry with me everyday. Monday evening went suprisingly quick as I said. Laundry was a must on the agenda, but I didn't want to pay for the washer or have to haul stuff downstairs and back up so instead I did things the old fashioned way- hand washing. Yes, believe it or not I hand washed all of my shirts and underwear items from the previous week. I figured I didn't have enough strength left to ring out my pants and those weren't a necessity for the week as I have lots of pants. Later we tried to be ambitious and actually read our books for class tonight, but that was soon interrupted. I called John to borrow one of his books and he brought it down and then we ended up talking for over an hour and before we knew it...it was midnight- WAY past our 10:30pm usual bedtime...and it is getting late again tonight.
Today went fairly well, though we were all dead tired after working all day and then having to turn around and go to class from 7-930pm. After that we went up to the guys' room to get our ketchup that was being held for ransom back, and we watched a National Geographic Channel movie on MS13 Gangs. Very interesting and frieghtening! Now its late and time for bed, so until next time... Happy Reading!!
Stephanie
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Pictures....
The Soap Box Derby Race on Saturday afternoon...
Fountains we cooled off in before getting told by Police that we couldn't...
John on the Metro on our way to Target...we had the entire car to ourselves the whole way...
The National Cathedral...
One of the performances at the Juneteenth Celebration...
Fountains we cooled off in before getting told by Police that we couldn't...
John on the Metro on our way to Target...we had the entire car to ourselves the whole way...
The National Cathedral...
One of the performances at the Juneteenth Celebration...
HOT HOT HOT!
Wow two posts in one day!
Spent the morning at the National Cathedral church services, then had a great lunch at Cactus Cantina...an awesome Mexican restaurant right next to the Cathedral that I have been wanting to try. It was fairly inexpensive, and WELL worth it in my opinion. There were 8 of us that went, and I wish I took a picture of the table of all of our food when they finished bringing it. We got about every single thing on a different plate: meat, rice, bowl of beans, lettuce and toppings, etc. TONS of food. After lunch a few of us headed over to check out the Juneteenth celebration. It just wasn't what I thought it would be...very small and low key. There weren't many people there either. We didn't stay very long due to the heat and humidity but the performers were interesting. I'll post some photos later this week when I download them. We headed home around 4pm and stopped at Safeway for some groceries.
I was beat and dripping grossly in sweat by the time we walked back to the apartment. And THAT'S why I love the fact that we are indirectly paying for the air conditioning and it has been cranked at about 70 degrees since we got home. It feels so nice.....
It's getting late...nearly time for bed! :)
Stephanie
Spent the morning at the National Cathedral church services, then had a great lunch at Cactus Cantina...an awesome Mexican restaurant right next to the Cathedral that I have been wanting to try. It was fairly inexpensive, and WELL worth it in my opinion. There were 8 of us that went, and I wish I took a picture of the table of all of our food when they finished bringing it. We got about every single thing on a different plate: meat, rice, bowl of beans, lettuce and toppings, etc. TONS of food. After lunch a few of us headed over to check out the Juneteenth celebration. It just wasn't what I thought it would be...very small and low key. There weren't many people there either. We didn't stay very long due to the heat and humidity but the performers were interesting. I'll post some photos later this week when I download them. We headed home around 4pm and stopped at Safeway for some groceries.
I was beat and dripping grossly in sweat by the time we walked back to the apartment. And THAT'S why I love the fact that we are indirectly paying for the air conditioning and it has been cranked at about 70 degrees since we got home. It feels so nice.....
It's getting late...nearly time for bed! :)
Stephanie
HOT Summer days...
To start this off….I was told I needed to find a good pair of walking shoes. Well I did Saturday, but $495- ON CLEARANCE was a little out of my price range. I need to win the lottery first I think!
Wow, I can’t believe how long since I really updated! I guess that just means I’ve been keeping busy. : )
So we were all so excited that it was the weekend: we could go out Friday night, sleep in Saturday until whenever, and just have a relaxing day, and go out again Saturday if we wanted. Well, I hardly did that at all! Friday night we (the roomies and I) were invited for movies up in the guys’ room. We decided we were all way too tired to really go out, so Holly made some brownies for us and we rented Final Destination 1 and 2. We watched Kill Bill that someone had with them, and one of the Final Destinations before calling it a night. We all got a good nights’ sleep and slept in a little (surprisingly, here, a little mean 9am). Jenny and Holly and I all went our separate ways for the day. John and I ventured an hour’s ride on the Metro to
After Target we booked it back to D.C. and hit the Smithsonian exit. We met up with a couple friends of John’s, and they brought friends, who brought friends, etc. After like 20 introductions we played ultimate Frisbee…where else but ON THE NATIONAL MALL! It was awesome. Though I was sure the secret service would be out there tackling us because we were using backpacks as goal posts so they were scattered all over the area.
It was extremely warm Saturday so we didn’t last too long. We walked towards the
Then we moved onto Union Station and jumped on the Circulator bus to go to
When I eventually came back downstairs last night I checked the weather for today because the tentative plans are to go to the Juneteeth Festival after going to services at the National Cathedral and lunch with some friends. Here’s the SEVERE WEATHER ALERT that was flashing on the weather page (I just cut and paste the funny part):
WITH THIS BEING ONE OF THE FIRST FEW HOT SUMMER DAYS OF THE SEASON....PEOPLE ARE NOT AS ADJUSTED TO THE HEAT AND TEND TO HAVE MORE PROBLEMS. PLAN ACCORDINGLY AND DO NOT STRAIN TOO HARD DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS... AND DRINK ENOUGH WATER
I couldn’t help but laugh that they were saying this to people. Anyways, on that note I’ve got to get in the shower and get moving so I’m not late for church services!
Friday, June 16, 2006
Fun Facts
One last day of interning this week, and i'm feeling it now, it's going to be a long one. I need to go in early because I couldn't stay very late on Thursday due to my class at 7pm and I have a meeting at 11am I need to prepare for.
So I leave this blog for the week with a few final thoughts- what better than some Interesting Facts about D.C.?!?!
from www.washingtondc.org:
So I leave this blog for the week with a few final thoughts- what better than some Interesting Facts about D.C.?!?!
from www.washingtondc.org:
When Pierre Charles L'Enfant gazed northward along the banks of the Potomac River in 1791, he envisioned a "pedestal waiting for a monument." Since that day, Washington, DC has evolved into a fascinating, lively city combining grand, neoclassical government buildings, monuments, memorials, museums and the National Mall with colorful neighborhoods, art, theatre, music and culture.
Washington, DC is a powerful symbol not only of our nation but also of democracy and freedom. The District of Columbia's neighborhoods, people, history and culture truly embody the American Experience—from Duke Ellington to John Phillip Sousa and from the Civil War to civil rights. Only in Washington, DC can visitors be inspired by touring the magnificent Capitol Building and Washington Monument by day and be moved by taking in magical performances by the National Symphony Orchestra and world-class opera by night.
During your stay in the nation's capital, we encourage you to discover Washington, DC as more than just a tourist. Become a part of the American Experience. Marvel at the Lincoln Memorial. Show your children the Star-Spangled Banner. Stop in at Eastern Market, an amazing European-style gathering of food vendors and artisans. Explore Jacqueline Kennedy's Washington through a city-wide celebration and discover how her love of the arts and the city transformed Washington.
Ok, so maybe that isn't THAT fun of info, but I'll work on some better "Fun facts"...
Time for work......
Stephanie
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
The long walk home...
Ok so I am slacking and obviously I'm not going to be able to promise an update EVERYDAY, I just can't do it on Tuesdays and Thursday when I have class for 2 1/2 hours after work. Class was good last night, alot of group discussion, and reflecting on our internships after the first week. As usual we pretty much camer home at 930pm, checked email and whatnot and were fast asleep by around 1030pm. What a life we don't live. haha...
I just got home for the night now. Jenny's parents were in town for a conference so Holly and I planned to meet up after work since we are only a couple blocks apart. We decided to walk all the way home from Downtown tonight, through Georgetown so we could scope things out a little more. We also grabbed dinner. We walked 20 blocks...that is, if you are counting by the numbered streets. It wasn't too terrible of walk since we had each other to talk to, and we stopped for dinner along the way. We figure it was only about 30 minutes of walking though which didn't seem like that long. According to Mapquest it is just under 2 miles, and that seemed fairly accurate to the route we took.
Nothing exciting at work today- other than having a staff meeting shortly after 1pm that went until 5:10pm. OMG, who has a FOUR HOUR staff meeting?!?!? It was some serious business, and we basically planned all the plenary and concurrent sessions and intensives workshops for their entire annual conference in October so we did work hard. Due to the long meeting I had to work late to get some things done, which worked out well since I was meeting up with Holly after 6pm.
And here we are again shortly after 9pm and due to lack of anything better to do, and being deadbeat tired, I'm about ready to call it a night I think- unless the guys upstairs are up for a movie or some more movies. We will see....for now, adios!
Stephanie
I just got home for the night now. Jenny's parents were in town for a conference so Holly and I planned to meet up after work since we are only a couple blocks apart. We decided to walk all the way home from Downtown tonight, through Georgetown so we could scope things out a little more. We also grabbed dinner. We walked 20 blocks...that is, if you are counting by the numbered streets. It wasn't too terrible of walk since we had each other to talk to, and we stopped for dinner along the way. We figure it was only about 30 minutes of walking though which didn't seem like that long. According to Mapquest it is just under 2 miles, and that seemed fairly accurate to the route we took.
Nothing exciting at work today- other than having a staff meeting shortly after 1pm that went until 5:10pm. OMG, who has a FOUR HOUR staff meeting?!?!? It was some serious business, and we basically planned all the plenary and concurrent sessions and intensives workshops for their entire annual conference in October so we did work hard. Due to the long meeting I had to work late to get some things done, which worked out well since I was meeting up with Holly after 6pm.
And here we are again shortly after 9pm and due to lack of anything better to do, and being deadbeat tired, I'm about ready to call it a night I think- unless the guys upstairs are up for a movie or some more movies. We will see....for now, adios!
Stephanie
Sunday, June 11, 2006
A couple more pics......
Just a couple more pictures from the weekend...the first is Pat and I enjoying some yummy cheesecake (Pat is 'one of the guys' from upstairs I often seem to refer to). The second photo is just another neat one from our walking tour.
A Long Weekend...
Well, we were up bright and early on Saturday morning for our walking tour of Washington D.C. We started by walking over the Key Bridge to Rosslyn and jumping the Metro there. It was like Kindergarden all over again- we all had to have a "buddy" so we didn't have to do a head count when we left different places. We got off at the Faragut West Metro stop and explaored the area surrounding the front side of the White House, met some protestors who have been sitting in front of the White House 24/7 for over 25 years, walked through an extremely classy hotel (the Willard Hotel), saw the house where Lincoln was killed, Ford Theater, the alley John Wilkes Booth escaped from, Clara Barton's office building, condos that start at $1,700 a month, the National Building Museum, and much more. Professor Stiles is an excellent tour guide and she had a lot of great stories to tell us. We ended the day at Union Station for lunch and shopping. Check out http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/information2546/information_show.htm?doc_id=71433 for more details on where exactly we went on our tour. We didn't follow the map exactly, but we hit many of the locations on all of the loops.
After lunch at Union Station a few of us got the idea that we were hungry for some cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. We found out where the nearest one was, and headed to it! We took the Metro to Friendship Heights and spent some time checking things out before taking to bus home. That was one packed bus, and we had to stop about every block which made for nearly a 50 minute bus ride back to Georgetown. We got back and took a well-deserved nap before going out to dinner with Pat and John (the boys upstairs). Holly went home for the weekend so it was just Jenny and I. We ended up having a picnic on a street corner in Georgetown then decided to head up to Dupont and check out the Pride Parade and Festivities. The byos headed home then and Jenny and I went to explore some more nightlife in Washington D.C. for a few hours which included randomly meeting up with the guys from the British Military whom we had met the night before. We didn't figure we'd see them again, but all of the sudden they were sitting next to us.
Today has been a lounging day for the most part with nothing exciting happening. I could give you the play-by-play but that would basicaly entail writing a journal entry for class, and surfing the web. I did manage to do all of my laundry AND pick up the apartment though so we are all ready for the week.
We again are realizing how rough the next 7 weeks will be without a tv. We get bored, as we are right now. It's not that we HAVE to watch something, it's just that we have nothing else to do and we don't want to be going 24/7. Sometimes tv is good. I think we will be looking at Stoop Sales next weekend for a cheap one! Until then, we'll have to keep being nice to the guys upstairs so we can watch movies with them all night long.
For now, I leave you with a few photos from this weekend Saturday.
Mr. Bush with the guys and I
Holly and i with a couple of the British Boys
THE White House
Healy Hall on Georgetown Campus (right outside our front window)
rAnDoMnEsS! (Me, Jenny, and Holly)..you gotta have some crazy pictures once in a while!
After lunch at Union Station a few of us got the idea that we were hungry for some cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. We found out where the nearest one was, and headed to it! We took the Metro to Friendship Heights and spent some time checking things out before taking to bus home. That was one packed bus, and we had to stop about every block which made for nearly a 50 minute bus ride back to Georgetown. We got back and took a well-deserved nap before going out to dinner with Pat and John (the boys upstairs). Holly went home for the weekend so it was just Jenny and I. We ended up having a picnic on a street corner in Georgetown then decided to head up to Dupont and check out the Pride Parade and Festivities. The byos headed home then and Jenny and I went to explore some more nightlife in Washington D.C. for a few hours which included randomly meeting up with the guys from the British Military whom we had met the night before. We didn't figure we'd see them again, but all of the sudden they were sitting next to us.
Today has been a lounging day for the most part with nothing exciting happening. I could give you the play-by-play but that would basicaly entail writing a journal entry for class, and surfing the web. I did manage to do all of my laundry AND pick up the apartment though so we are all ready for the week.
We again are realizing how rough the next 7 weeks will be without a tv. We get bored, as we are right now. It's not that we HAVE to watch something, it's just that we have nothing else to do and we don't want to be going 24/7. Sometimes tv is good. I think we will be looking at Stoop Sales next weekend for a cheap one! Until then, we'll have to keep being nice to the guys upstairs so we can watch movies with them all night long.
For now, I leave you with a few photos from this weekend Saturday.
Mr. Bush with the guys and I
Holly and i with a couple of the British Boys
THE White House
Healy Hall on Georgetown Campus (right outside our front window)
rAnDoMnEsS! (Me, Jenny, and Holly)..you gotta have some crazy pictures once in a while!
Friday, June 09, 2006
One week down...
To start off this post, here's a picture of my friend Andrea and I when we met up last weekend. She's now safely but sadly back in Dominica for another year or so with the Peace Corps. It's actually a somewhat decent headshot of me considering all of the walking I did that day (and this was at like 8pm- post walking!)..Rob and Andrea always kid me about my walking and whining when I am with them but what can I say...I'm not used to walking because in Michigan if I'm going from the mall across the street to Target- you're darn right I'm going to get in my car and drive across the street- but NOT in D.C....even if I had a car here.
Moving on..........
There are always so many things you can learn in a day. Like this afternoon as I left work this guy gets on the elevator and says to the other 4 or 5 of us on it “Ok now, who knows where an almond comes from?” And we all just stand there completely stunned at this totally RANDOM question from this guy who we don’t even know. Then to add to it, he whips the Almond plant out of his suit jacket pocket and is like “Trees!! Did you guys know that?” We simply amused him by stating you learn something new all the time, even 5:30pm on a Friday night when we just want to get off that elevator and get out of the place. Turns out he had a friend from work who apparently just returned from
So the staffing as I’ve said is minimal to begin with at NCCNHR and NLTORC but today is was pretty scarce. I think half of the staff of 10 were at conferences or had the day off for whatever reason. It was so dead quiet there with everyone gone.
My first week is over- I survived it! The mornings appear to be the time everyone gets down to work hard-core at work. It’s funny because all of us interns get there at like 830am or 9am at the latest, but the majority of the staff just meanders into the office at 9:30am or 10am…whenever they get there. And then in the afternoon (like today) all of the sudden we realize that it’s just a couple of us left, mostly the three interns who are still hard at work and everyone else is on their merry way. Lunchtime is a nice staff discussion time and when everyone really starts talking for the day, and then the afternoons seem to be full of discussion- both on work topics and off the topic. The place really seems to get noisy in the afternoon.
This internship is defiantly different for me because for once in my life my job doesn’t consist of answering the phone every time I hear it ring unless it is my own phone ringing- there’s someone else who’s job is to answer the phone for a change. J No offense to any fellow phone answerer friends, it is just different not having to answer phones throughout the day and taking care of them!
Well, this girl has about had it on the computer for one day! I’m out like a bandit at a jewelry store for now. I think the roommates and I are going to go and grab some dinner and check out some hangouts in the
Stephanie
Another day of new experiences...
I guess I need to start off by explaining where exactly I am interning, and what I am doing. A lot of people are asking and it’s kind of hard to explain over and over so let me try to put it as easily as possible. I was originally going to be working with the Family and Resident Outreach Director with the National Citizen’s Coalition for Nursing Home Reform (NCCNHR) but upon my arrival on Tuesday I learned that she would no longer be with the organization as of this Friday for some personal and family reasons. Nonetheless the organization is more than happy to have me there and it’s a very nice environment to be in. So I then learned that my actual ‘supervisor’ is the Director of the National Long Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center (LTCORC).
This is where things get complicated. The NCCNHR works on issues in long-term and advocates for resident rights. A few of their hot topics right now include fighting for better staffing ratios, speaking out on issues of abuse and neglect in nursing homes across the country, and culture change in facilities. The organization primarily focuses on nursing homes, but also includes the areas of assisted living and board and care type homes to an extent. The organization has done and is doing some really powerful stuff and I have only begun to truly experience it all to the fullest possible bit.Now, within the NCCNHR office is the NLTCORC. The Administration on Agency funds the majority of this organization, and NCCNHR is granted the opportunity to housing the organization on a year by year basis from the AoA. The Center acts as a resource center for Ombudsmen across the
Our office is good sized, but there’s not much “roaming room” for a girl who is used to being able to go from one end of a large facility to another for exercise throughout the day. :) The monotony of sitting at my desk in my office all day long gets tiring and I try to get up and walk a bit but the staff start to look at my roaming patterns oddly after the first half of the day. Speaking of the office, this week I have been sharing a very spacious office with my supervisor, but since she is gone now I officially have my own office. I feel like I have known this lady forever. It’s really weird, but I was sad to say goodbye today when I left. Did I mention the office has a view?!?! I’ve posted some pictures below of the office space and the view from the office overlooking
The long day brings up another point for me. I have come to realize how lucky I have always been back in
I’ve learned a lot of other things too around the
After class we thought about going out for a bit to explore Georgetown some more, but after going upstairs to see the guys for a minute they invited us up for movies and whatnot. We ended up spending a couple hours up there just talking and watching a season of Jacka$ on DVD. It provided some good times after no tv for almost a week!! J
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Day 5
This entry will have to be brief, as I just got up from a 3 hour nap that was well needed.
I spent the entire day at a Nursing Home Abuse and neglect workshop which included local Ombudsmen from the surrounding area, numerous elder law attorneys, other advocates for the industry, people from Office of Inspector General (who freaked me out at first because I saw their guns since they were sitting in front of me, but couldn't see their badges...that's a whole nother story though!), and then there were even some family members and residents from nursing homes there. It was very interesting, but sad to hear what the families were saying about resident care that was happening in the area. The images we saw and cases we reviewed were horrific as well and most defintly provided an eye-opening experience for me. You hear about "situations" that occur, but when you take a look at actual incidences of abuse and neglect that has happened in long term care in just one area in the past few months it hits you more.
The seminar was over around 3:45pm and Lori (my supervisor and director of the long term care ombudsmen resource center) told me to call it a day since by the time we would get back to the office it would be nearly 5pm and close to quitting time. So I headed towards home. Stopped in Georgetown and took the bus up a few blocks to Safeway for some groceries and then took the bus home finaly. And that brings me to now, after my nap. I think I am going to go back to my bed though and sleep for the night- another long day ahead tomorrow!!
Stephanie
I spent the entire day at a Nursing Home Abuse and neglect workshop which included local Ombudsmen from the surrounding area, numerous elder law attorneys, other advocates for the industry, people from Office of Inspector General (who freaked me out at first because I saw their guns since they were sitting in front of me, but couldn't see their badges...that's a whole nother story though!), and then there were even some family members and residents from nursing homes there. It was very interesting, but sad to hear what the families were saying about resident care that was happening in the area. The images we saw and cases we reviewed were horrific as well and most defintly provided an eye-opening experience for me. You hear about "situations" that occur, but when you take a look at actual incidences of abuse and neglect that has happened in long term care in just one area in the past few months it hits you more.
The seminar was over around 3:45pm and Lori (my supervisor and director of the long term care ombudsmen resource center) told me to call it a day since by the time we would get back to the office it would be nearly 5pm and close to quitting time. So I headed towards home. Stopped in Georgetown and took the bus up a few blocks to Safeway for some groceries and then took the bus home finaly. And that brings me to now, after my nap. I think I am going to go back to my bed though and sleep for the night- another long day ahead tomorrow!!
Stephanie
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Day 4...the Big Day!
Well, here it is 9:50pm and I just got home from a very long day and just now had dinner. My day started bright and early at 7am. Left the apartment around 8:15am and took the bus to DuPont Circle. I thought from there I would take another bus to get closer to work but with 8 different streets intersecting at once, and another half dozen (or seeming like it) around that, I couldn't find the right intersection and decided it was just as easy to walk. It wasn't near as far as walking from Dupont Circle to Adam's Morgan last weekend.
I made it to my internship with no problem and got introductions of all the staff. There aren't that many staff, but it still took me alot of the day to remember the like 10 peoples' names. Oh, I have an actual office!! I was so excited. And as of Friday it will be my own office because the lady who was supposed to be my supervisor is leaving the organization at the end of the week. So weird and sad too. I really like the gal. Oh, did I mention the office has a huge window!?!
So since she is leaving my supervisor is now going to be the Director of the National Long Term Care Ombudmen Resource Center which is housed within the Citizen's Coalition for Nursing Home Reform. It is confusing because they are housed within the same office, and work together ultimately but financially, it appears they are very separate due to funding.
I left interning around 5:40pm then walked back to Dupont Circle (uphill of course) to catch the bus back to Georgetown University. Of course as I was kiddie corner from the stop the bus was pulling away so I had to wait in rush hour traffic for the next one. Made it back with like 15 minutes to spare before class started at 7pm.
Class suprisingly seems exciting. Our professor is extremely energetic, but not to the point of annoyance like other Professors I have experienced. This is defintly GOOD energy!!...haha... But honestly the class seems very interesting. And its nice because our only assignments are graded journal type entries that simply have us reflect on major events of the week, and how we have grown living in Washington D.C. Saturday we have like a 4 hour walking tour for class, then lunch at Union Station.
Well, that's all for now. It's late and I have to leave by 7:30am tommorrow to go to a seminar for work. Ok, one last thing, when I say "work" in any of these blogs I am referring to my internship of course!
Stephanie
I made it to my internship with no problem and got introductions of all the staff. There aren't that many staff, but it still took me alot of the day to remember the like 10 peoples' names. Oh, I have an actual office!! I was so excited. And as of Friday it will be my own office because the lady who was supposed to be my supervisor is leaving the organization at the end of the week. So weird and sad too. I really like the gal. Oh, did I mention the office has a huge window!?!
So since she is leaving my supervisor is now going to be the Director of the National Long Term Care Ombudmen Resource Center which is housed within the Citizen's Coalition for Nursing Home Reform. It is confusing because they are housed within the same office, and work together ultimately but financially, it appears they are very separate due to funding.
I left interning around 5:40pm then walked back to Dupont Circle (uphill of course) to catch the bus back to Georgetown University. Of course as I was kiddie corner from the stop the bus was pulling away so I had to wait in rush hour traffic for the next one. Made it back with like 15 minutes to spare before class started at 7pm.
Class suprisingly seems exciting. Our professor is extremely energetic, but not to the point of annoyance like other Professors I have experienced. This is defintly GOOD energy!!...haha... But honestly the class seems very interesting. And its nice because our only assignments are graded journal type entries that simply have us reflect on major events of the week, and how we have grown living in Washington D.C. Saturday we have like a 4 hour walking tour for class, then lunch at Union Station.
Well, that's all for now. It's late and I have to leave by 7:30am tommorrow to go to a seminar for work. Ok, one last thing, when I say "work" in any of these blogs I am referring to my internship of course!
Stephanie
Monday, June 05, 2006
More walking....
I have come to the conclusion that walking is going to be my life this summer. Hopefully the big city will give me the inspiration I need. :) The three of us went to check out the routes to our internships today. Jenny attempted the walk across the bridge to Rossyln area, and Holly and I went our own way together to check things out because our internships are only a couple blocks from each other which is kind of cool. First though, we tested out the free Georgetown University shuttle to the metro stop, then hopped on to go to Metro Center to purchase our SmarTrip cards (they are like a credit card that you can add value to, but you just have to tap them and go instead of hang onto paper cards and put them through the machines everytime on the metro, and having to have exact chage ready for the metro. Then we headed back to Farragut Square North where our internships are located near. After we found our buildings we headed up the street a few blocks and did some shopping for food at Whole Foods store. We bought some fresh fruit and dinner supplies. We attempted to catch the bus back, but the 225pm bus never showed so we had to wait over a half an hour for the next bus. We were about ready to take a cab home!
And now ends day number 3. Well, almost. It's only 6pm, but I have the feeling we are going to make dinner and just take an easy tonight in preparation for a big day tommorrow. I also have the feeling the ironing board will be getting some good use tonight!
Until next time!
And now ends day number 3. Well, almost. It's only 6pm, but I have the feeling we are going to make dinner and just take an easy tonight in preparation for a big day tommorrow. I also have the feeling the ironing board will be getting some good use tonight!
Until next time!
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Day 2.
And what an adventure it was!
The day started will the sun shining brightly, but so refreshingly into our apartment bedroom. Holly and I share a room, and Jenny has her own bedroom. We were supposed to have another roommate, but she decided at very last minute not to come. Weird. Nonetheless we are here.
We managed to all get through the bathroom routine without killing each other and over to breakfast on time at 10am, then a short orientation after that. By noon we were free for the day! Yay!
Holly and Jenny and I headed off to Pentagon City for some supply shopping. Believe it or not I didn't spend a dime (other than on the metro!) After that I met up with Rob and Andrea (friends from D.C.). I knew my way to Rob's place from Dupont Circle but stupid me got kinda mixed up trying to find the right bus stop and I decided I could walk it. Ya, umm.....that's a long way, especially when it's uphill! Here's a picture of my walk (the thick blue line is where I walked.)
I hung out at Rob's for a bit then we head downtown for a little sightseeing. Andrea wanted to take some photos of the White House and Washington Monument and other "D.C. things" on her new digital camera to show the kids back in Dominca where she's in the Peace Corps. We also had some time to grab a bite to eat. Unfortunately daquaris weren't on the agenda this time....but Rob and I will have many throughout the summer I'm sure! Our adventure was as follows:
What a busy afternoon and evening. By the time I got my butt home I was beat and ready to sit. As you can see I did a heck of a lot of walking (the maps above outline my walking paths only). The rest of the evening was spent doing a bunch of little things until about 3am....but that starts day number 3.....
The day started will the sun shining brightly, but so refreshingly into our apartment bedroom. Holly and I share a room, and Jenny has her own bedroom. We were supposed to have another roommate, but she decided at very last minute not to come. Weird. Nonetheless we are here.
We managed to all get through the bathroom routine without killing each other and over to breakfast on time at 10am, then a short orientation after that. By noon we were free for the day! Yay!
Holly and Jenny and I headed off to Pentagon City for some supply shopping. Believe it or not I didn't spend a dime (other than on the metro!) After that I met up with Rob and Andrea (friends from D.C.). I knew my way to Rob's place from Dupont Circle but stupid me got kinda mixed up trying to find the right bus stop and I decided I could walk it. Ya, umm.....that's a long way, especially when it's uphill! Here's a picture of my walk (the thick blue line is where I walked.)
I hung out at Rob's for a bit then we head downtown for a little sightseeing. Andrea wanted to take some photos of the White House and Washington Monument and other "D.C. things" on her new digital camera to show the kids back in Dominca where she's in the Peace Corps. We also had some time to grab a bite to eat. Unfortunately daquaris weren't on the agenda this time....but Rob and I will have many throughout the summer I'm sure! Our adventure was as follows:
What a busy afternoon and evening. By the time I got my butt home I was beat and ready to sit. As you can see I did a heck of a lot of walking (the maps above outline my walking paths only). The rest of the evening was spent doing a bunch of little things until about 3am....but that starts day number 3.....
Days 0 and 1
Well, we started the drive on Friday, June 1, 2006 at 8 a.m. from Battle Creek, Michigan. With numerous stops and lots of rain along the way we were safely in our hotel room by 7:30pm. After dinner Dad and Grandma and I headed down to the World War II and Lincoln Memorials for a bit.
Saturday morning we had breakfast and did a little more sightseeing before being able to check into my apartment at 2pm. Got everything carried up the stairs and Dad and Grandma left. I sure had a mess of tubs and stuff in the living room. I moved everything into my bedroom closet and figured I'd unpack later on. I contemplated going to a friend's house in Adam's Morgan to a lunch party he was having, but no more than laid down on the couch with my pillow for 5 minutes and one of the roomies walked in the door and that was the end of that potential nap time! ;) We sat and talked for quite some time and then got a little energy and motivation to unpack and another roomie showed up. We continued unpacking and getting things like internet and stuff in order before our "Mandatory dinner" at 7pm. I think alot of people thought it would be a nice little welcome type dinner but it was pizza and salad sitting on dirty cement in a kind of alley of some crummy looking apartments nexdt to the dumpsters.
The next adventure of the evening was going to include hanging out with the guys upstairs. We went to get some snacks and drinks, but by the time we walked the 14+ blocks to the right store and decided to take a cab back because it was so late we were beat! I think we had one drink, never made it to the guys' room for the movie, and called it an early night......
Saturday morning we had breakfast and did a little more sightseeing before being able to check into my apartment at 2pm. Got everything carried up the stairs and Dad and Grandma left. I sure had a mess of tubs and stuff in the living room. I moved everything into my bedroom closet and figured I'd unpack later on. I contemplated going to a friend's house in Adam's Morgan to a lunch party he was having, but no more than laid down on the couch with my pillow for 5 minutes and one of the roomies walked in the door and that was the end of that potential nap time! ;) We sat and talked for quite some time and then got a little energy and motivation to unpack and another roomie showed up. We continued unpacking and getting things like internet and stuff in order before our "Mandatory dinner" at 7pm. I think alot of people thought it would be a nice little welcome type dinner but it was pizza and salad sitting on dirty cement in a kind of alley of some crummy looking apartments nexdt to the dumpsters.
The next adventure of the evening was going to include hanging out with the guys upstairs. We went to get some snacks and drinks, but by the time we walked the 14+ blocks to the right store and decided to take a cab back because it was so late we were beat! I think we had one drink, never made it to the guys' room for the movie, and called it an early night......
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