On My Mind: The Grad School Journey

Hello friends! I hope you're all having a delightful Friday {seriously, I thought it would never get here}! I wanted to share a few things that have been on my mind lately in relation to the impending grad school journey.  I am currently a ball of nervous energy when it comes to the whole move, with questions and extraneous thoughts like {see below} running through my head:

Questions:

• Where will be moving next year {this part is still very much up in the air}?
• When will we be moving {this relates to summer travel, so knowing which airport to book tickets from will be helpful}?
• Will I be able to get a new job easily? And will it be a job that fits with my career goals?
• What will it look like on a daily basis to be an MBA partner?
• How easy will it be to make friends? As an aside, MBA programs are great in that nearly all of them have a partner and spouse club, so, since I won't be a student in the program, this will likely be my network.
• To what extent will I feel included in Dan's journey? I have heard that MBAs try to involve partners in as much as possible, but I obviously haven't seen this put into practice yet.
• Will Dan do a good job of prioritizing our relationship? We have had conversations about this, and, while he assures me that our relationship will be a priority, we are not yet in the middle of the process, so I am nervous.  I was reading some articles last night that suggested some helpful tips for navigating the MBA process as a couple.  On the other end of this, I need to remember not to make this all about me.  While the feminist in me may hate it, I am going to be in a complete support role for the next few years, and I am just going to swallow that pill.  Dan has assured me that he will follow me whenever I go to grad school, so I will have my time to make it about me and my dreams later on.
• Will the experience make me feel isolated? I know that I will have to call on my reserve of self-sufficiency over the next few years - I know that and am prepared for it going in. I know that there are going to be lots of demands on Dan's time that don't involve me, so it's all about how I manage those expectations.

General Thoughts:

• Leaving DC is going to be hard.  I have eight years of memories from living in this place, so I am trying to use the next few months to soak in as much as possible.
• It is going to be indescribably painful to leave family and friends. As much as both of us are ready for a new adventure, I can't help but think that this is the first part of the rest of my life. I will eventually get used to not living near my family and certain close friends, but I know it will take awhile for that to sink in. Similar to my favorite DC locales, I am trying to soak up as much time as possible with those I care about.
• I feel very vulnerable. I am so excited for this adventure that will begin the next chapter of our lives together, but there are so many question marks.  I am taking a huge leap, and I am not usually a person who leaps! I worry about how quickly I will find a job {and, thus, how long I will be without an income, and also whether that job will be a good fit for me}, how much I'll really get to see of Dan over those few years, how I will handle the loneliness.  There is also the big question of when we will get engaged.  One of my biggest doubts about this move is doing so without a ring on my finger, so I hope that that is something we will continue to have open conversations about over the next few months.
• In summary, I am not a person who deals well with change and uncertainty.  This MBA journey is one big ball of uncertainty.  So the best I can do now is to stay busy {which should be easy, given that work will get incredibly busy again in a few weeks} and soak up time with family and friends.  At the end of the day, I have a wonderful, loving boyfriend who wants me to be a part of this process, and, at the end of the day, this move is an investment in our future.

I know that was a lot, but that is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what is flowing through my mind right now.  I know I will write more over the next few months about how I am feeling about these questions, and whether or not I have experienced any great epiphanies.  

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! We are doing a quick trip up to New York so I can cash in on my Christmas present from Dan, tickets to see Wicked!!!! I couldn't be more excited, because I have been wanting to see this play for YEARS. Literally, YEARS.  We're doing a nice little birthday celebration on Monday as well for my Mom, which will be nice.  Although she hates celebrating her birthday {she and Dan are alike in that sense}, I'm bursting  with birthday cheer, so she will celebrate it whether she likes it or not :-)

Some New {and Old} Local Favorites

As I have settled in to being an Arlingtonian {gasp} over the course of the summer, I have been determined to balance out my wonderful nights spent at home with Dan having dinner and catching up on our TV watching with venturing into the city and trying some new places.  I refuse to be the Arlingtonian who never leaves Arlington {but would certainly encourage friends to come out and see us there! It really is lovely! As an added bonus, we have a movie theater a block from our apartment that has RECLINERS.  RECLINERS, PEOPLE!!! You feel like you're watching a movie in your living room!}.

Anyway, I digress.  I have tried out a few new places that I have loved recently, and, so, have developed some new favorite haunts.

Dupont Circle and environs:
First of all, my friend Lauren is utterly obsessed with Glen's Market just north of Dupont, and, having now been there a handful of times, I can say that the obsession is justified.  Half overpriced {yet delicious} grocery store, half wine bar, it is perfect for an after-work gathering.  I have sampled some of their cheeses, chocolate {with pretzels in it...ummmm.....yeah}, house-made sandwiches, and, most importantly, their wine.  You essentially purchase a wine card from the bar for whatever denomination you please, and then you use it to fill your glass from several wine dispensers.  There are three sizes, so you can order whichever one suits your fancy.  Personally, I think this is an ingenious idea, and I can usually get the size that I want for $5-$6, so that's not too shabby.  I don't pretend to be as much of a hipster as the employees, but I just sip my wine and eat my goodies and refuse to feel self-conscious about that.  Also, one of the bartenders has an excellent handlebar mustache.  Now, I do not like facial hair, but, let me tell you, this particular mustache is a WIN.

I have also re-discovered the Dupont Farmers Market and how truly wonderful it is.  I went there a few weeks ago to meet up with a friend for brunch, and ordered a spinach and feta croissant {my normal order, because it's so darned delicious} and a few white peaches, which were easily the most delicious peaches that I've tasted in my life.  They were mouthwateringly delicious, so juicy and not overly ripe.  I am very picky about the firmness of my peaches; I don't like them too hard, and I certainly don't like them too mealy, so these peaches were the best of both worlds.  Supporting local farmers and artisans is one of my favorite things {which is obviously why my Eastern Market jewelry problem started}, so I love going to this market. Surprisingly, I have not been back to the Courthouse market, but I would like to start doing that more, because, really, I have no excuse.

Eastern Market:
Dan and I got an itch over the weekend to grab dinner and drinks in a neighborhood that we don't typically go to, so, partly because of the Metro convenience factor {thank you, weekend delays}, we decided on Eastern Market.  We got dinner at Cava Mezze, which was delicious.  My affinity for Mediterranean food is something I've developed since living in DC, particularly after graduation, and I am literally almost always in the mood for Mediterranean food {this is also how I feel about Indian food}.  Cava Mezze did not disappoint, providing enough warm, yummy bread for two starving souls to lift our spirits before our food came out.   I convinced Dan to split an order of saganaki {the delicious cheese that they set on fire with some brandy}, and then I got my standard lentil patties and brussels sprouts with tzatziki sauce.  My mouth was in heaven.

After dinner, we went to Harold Black's speakeasy, which, for those of you who have never had the pleasure of eating at Acqua al 2 {if you haven't, then stop reading this post and go there RIGHT NOW}, is right above that restaurant, through a SUPER SECRET entrance {it IS actually unmarked}. Once you reach the door and knock so that someone can open it for you, you enter a dimly-lit room {lit only by candles in mason jars, obviously}, and spent 90 minutes sipping on some of the most delicious cocktails.  A word of warning: they are VERY strong, which we both realized at the end of the night.  But the drinks were delicious, the atmosphere was chic and intimate, and I was so glad we tried it out.

Old Town:
I went out to dinner with my parents last night at a place that has become near and dear to all of our hearts since they moved back to DC.  Fontaine is tucked away on a little side street off of King, and features some mind-blowing sweet and savory crepes.  Obviously, in my family, we order both.  There is NEVER a wait {hence the reason for not taking reservations}, and the food is out-of-this-world good.  Also, their weekly French movie nights make me wish I lived right next door, because, come on, French movies and French food? Sign me up!

I hope you all are able to try out some of these places, if you haven't already.  I know I've had a lot of fun trying them!!!  Also, stay tuned, because Dan will be attempting his first home-cooked meal for me on Saturday night, and I will obviously be posting about it!  This was not voluntary on his part; he just owed me for losing our March Madness challenge ;-)

No Excuses

Hello there, folks! It's me, returned from the land of long-lost bloggers!  It has been an inexcusable amount of time since I blogged, but hopefully, once I summarize my summer for you, you'll forgive me.  The one excuse that I will attempt to give is that this summer has been so jam-packed with activity that, every time I have considered blogging, I have opted not to in the end.  If I'm not feeling it, I'm just not feeling it, and you wouldn't want me to feel burdened by what I'm writing for all of you, right?!?  So, in summary, my summer to date:

• So, Dan and I moved.  Over two months ago.  I love our little apartment {which our friends are seeing for the first time tonight...total fail on our part}, and, more than anything, I love living with my best friend.  Coming home to him is, quite literally, the highlight of every day for me, and moving in together was one of the best decisions we have made.
• As a side note, as much as I LOVE living with Dan, leaving Molly after our time living together was nothing short of excruciating. Sure, we have two fun places that we can now hang out in, but it isn't the same when you can't poke your head in your roomie's room and have girl time with them.  Also, although he insists otherwise, I can feel Dan's eyes of judgment as I nom on cookie dough, cake batter, or the raw form of whatever I happen to be cooking.  Now Molly, that girl doesn't judge and, in fact, sometimes partook in my gluttonous ways with me.
• A week after the move, Dan took, and aced {!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!} the GMAT!  I am so immensely proud of him, and can't to see where this journey takes us next!
• A week after the GMAT, we went to our first of four weddings for the summer, and, the deeper we got in the wedding season, the more I discovered that I just don't have the stamina for that many weddings!  The first was in Pittsburgh for Dan's friend from high school, and it was a wonderful {not to mention beautiful and classy in every way} wedding.  It was a great time, and I enjoyed spending time with Dan's HS friends.  Three weeks later, we were off on a jet plane to Chicago, and holy moley, did we ever fall in love with that city by the lake!  Obviously, I was on Cloud 9 all weekend, because Kristin and Kevin were getting married, and my love was there, AND my favorite ladies were there for our first reunion in two years.  I can't overstate how fantastic this wedding was, and it was such a wonderful experience to be a bridesmaid for my gorgeous Kristin.  It was an absolutely gorgeous wedding in a fabulous city.  Wedding #3 was for my cousin in NY in July, and it didn't disappoint.  It was a blast to see my family, and it was the first time that Dan was meeting many family members.  The wedding, again, was beautiful, and we remarked on the fact that all three weddings have been so DIFFERENT {or, as different as weddings can be}!  Our final wedding of the season is back in Pittsburgh next weekend {actually, at the same venue as the first wedding} for another of Dan's HS friends, and I am so excited.  He is also a groomsman, which, despite the fact that he begrudgingly has to wear a tux, will be so fun for him.  I'll be hanging out with his parents, who will be at the wedding, and all of the other significant others of the groomsmen :)
• I think I deserve a medal for how little I wrote about four weddings. Period.
• After 2.5 years in a job that I was beyond miserable in, I transitioned into a new role in July!  The new job is a similar type of office, and will afford me more opportunities to travel and utilize what I consider to be my best skills.  I am really enjoying the job so far, and will be traveling to my region- the Plains states and parts of Texas!- for a few weeks in September, followed by a week in New England in October. {Sidebar: when they asked me if I was okay with going to New England for a week, I almost laughed in their faces. My beloved New England. In the fall. Foliage. Cold weather.  NO-BRAINER}
• We have watched a lot of baseball this summer, from a trip to Baltimore to watch the Red Sox, to two back-to-back Bucs-Nats games {now THAT, I did not have the stamina for.  I was comatose midway through the second game as a result of still-lingering exhaustion from the previous night, so I had no chance the day after the second game}, to two Bucs games at PNC {with the second likely to come next weekend}.
• I have really been rolling up my sleeves and getting creative with cooking {read: baking with some cooking sprinkled in} this summer.  All I have to say is, thank God for Pinterest.  That is all.  And so, my "food bragger" tendencies have been stretched to the limit, as I document nearly every new item that I make.  Some highlights included homemade gnocchi {and yes, Dan was an excellent co-chef!}, and his recent birthday cake, which I made for his 26th birthday {!!!} last week.
• I had an interesting tubing trip to Harpers Ferry in July, during which we lost a person.  We did not literally lose him {meaning, he did not perish}, but he did have to swim to shore and faced a several-mile, shoeless walk.  I'll leave it at that. It was an interesting day.
• There have been way too many goodbyes this summer, with several good friends leaving DC for grad school opportunities.  Isn't it the rule that, if you lose people, you should get at least that many close friends back in your city???
• My friend Kate was doing a law school internship here in DC for the summer, so I suppose she counts as a temporary transplant to DC :-) It was a blast to have her here, especially since one of her M.O. is exploring new restaurants.  Kate, thank you for your foodie ways!
• Last weekend, Dan and I went to Kings Dominion, and I officially conquered my fear of roller coasters!!! I went on three upside-down roller coasters, thank you very much :p
• Two weeks from now, I am going to the LAKE!  Now, because of some obligations with my new job, I am not able to take a full week off, but I will get a long weekend.  Plus, Dan has signed on to come with me, which I am thrilled about.  Since we started dating {almost 2.5 years ago- yikes!}, it has been my dream to have him come to the Lake.  I swear, if the weather is crummy, I will be one cranky lady.
• I am sure that there are many major things that I am forgetting, but the moments that have stuck with me the most about the summer have been the little moments with family, friends and Dan.  To be surrounded by the people you love, man, there's nothing better!  I sure am a lucky girl :-)
• My summer obviously would not have been complete without yet another scintillating season of The Bachelorette.  I hate myself for watching it, but I literally can't stop.  Oh well.

Lastly, I am waiting for X-ray results, which will tell me if I have a broken foot {the probable result of overuse during my 40+ mile/week running binge of this summer}.  Keep your fingers crossed, friends, because those of you who know me will can attest to the fact that I am a cranky pain in the ass when I can't exercise.  I'm hoping it's something like tendonitis {plantar fasciitis, which would be only somewhat less acceptable, would be more expensive, as it would require that I purchase orthodics worth hundreds of dollars for my running shoes. No thank you}.  Also, I am registered for the Army Ten-Miler in late October, and it is my goal to run that race.  Just throwing that out there.

Anywho, I sincerely hope that I will blog sooner than two months from now, but, what with my work and personal travel schedule, I can't make any promised.  At some point, I will post some pictures that encapsulate my summer, but hopefully you enjoyed this longer-than-necessary post!

Weekend Roundup: Melting

As of yesterday, the DC area had had 11 DAYS STRAIGHT of 95-degree-plus heat, but I am happy to report that, today, it is a cool 79 degrees.  I LOVE IT!!!!  Anyway, this weekend was absolutely incredible, so I apologize in advance for the really long post!

On Friday night, Dan and I had a really relaxing night at home.  We went to Maggiano's for dinner, since we were both in the mood for some good pasta, and then got Frozen Yo on the way home.  He recognized that we had been watching a lot of his type of movies (a.k.a. not chick flicks or romantic dramas), so he said that it was my turn to pick a movie.  I had innumerable ways in which I could have tortured him, but I went with 500 Days of Summer, because it is definitely not your typical love story.  While I don't think it was his favorite movie of all time, he chose to grin and bear it, and admitted that it was not terrible.

On Saturday morning, we were up bright and early so that the two of us and Lauren could drive out to Harpers Ferry, where we were meeting up with a group of friends (there were 16 of us in total!) to go whitewater tubing.  It was supposed to be about 105 degrees on Saturday, so I was definitely apprehensive about both getting sunburned and getting heatstroke.  However, despite the fact that I used 15 sunscreen, which was the lowest denomination among our group, I did not get burned at all, and it was actually surprisingly refreshing out on the water!  As we stood around waiting to get bused down to the river, I was sweating like a pig and was starting to regret the decision, but, once we were in the water, I felt 100 times better.  So we floated down the Potomac for a few hours, stopping occasionally to eat and drink, and, while the "whitewater" part of the trip left a lot to be desired (those were some pretty meager waterfalls), I had a fantastic time.  I couldn't think of a better way to spend such an unbearably hot day, because I certainly would not have wanted to spend the day outside otherwise! 

On Saturday evening, Dan had made plans with friends, so I met up with the tubing group at Churchkey for a light dinner.  Like most places in DC, the air conditioning was apparently not working, so we were all sweltering.  After we finished eating, we walked down the street to Policy, my new favorite place.  Because we got there so early, we were able to get a large booth for all of us.  We ended up leaving relatively early, shortly after the dancing started, because we were all exhausted (and some of us injured) from tubing earlier on in the day, but it was a nice, relaxing night out.

Lauren and I had planned to meet up with my parents on Sunday morning to go to the Titanic exhibit at the National Geographic Museum.  It was my first time at the museum, and the exhibit was interesting.  We all agreed at the end that we had hoped to see more artifacts from the wreckage.  The information there was all very interesting, but we thought that it could have been better visually.  We checked out the samurai exhibit afterward, which didn't really interest any of us, and then a photo exhibit, which was very moving.  All of the photos were from stories that had been published in the magazine in 2011, but these particular photos were not published.  The one series that moved me the most was about child brides in Yemen. In one photo, a girl, whose age was not provided but who was described as "pre-pubescent", sat with her noticeably older husband and their four children.  In another, a woman sat with her husband, who she married when she was six and he was twenty-five.  I wanted to vomit upon looking at those photos, because it is truly tragic to me that, in this day and age, child brides still exist.

We grabbed some lunch after checking out the exhibits, and then I headed over to Dan's.  And THEN came one of the most anticipated moments of my summer to date: THE COLDPLAY CONCERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  My wonderful Dan got the tickets for me for Christmas, and I think it was my most anticipated Christmas gift ever!  I had built the concert up a lot, since it was three years in the making for me (for those of you who know me, you'll recall the time when some friends and I were thwarted in our attempt to go to a Coldplay concert), and it really did not disappoint.  They are incredible entertainers, and I was belting out all of the lyrics and dancing around like a crazy person, not at all caring what anyone thought.  Dan could see the glee written all over my face, and I was so grateful for that amazingly thoughtful gift.  We got home much later than we normally would on a Sunday night, but, once again, we dodged a pretty nasty thunderstorm by about 10 minutes.  Jeez louise, I hope we keep this streak going!  I was having a hard time falling asleep, and was jumping every time I heard a large clap of thunder, so Dan made sure I was okay before attempting to fall asleep himself.  I am very lucky :)

I will post pictures of this epic weekend tomorrow, and I look forward to updating you all on our travels to Boston!  We leave on Thursday, and I'm pinching myself.  I told Dan last night that, as much as I was in my element last night, I will be like that ALL WEEKEND when we're back in my beloved Bay State!

Also, I usually take a look at the readership stats for this blog, mostly to see which topics seem to get the most hits (but maybe a little bit to reassure myself that people actually are reading haha), so thanks for making this gal feel good with that last post!! When I checked this morning, 18 people had read it!  I mostly blog for myself, to have a record of sorts, but it sure does help when you know that other people are finding some value in it!