Filling My Intellectual Curiosity Void

I like my job, I do.  But one thing that has become increasingly apparent to me over my time here is that my job is not particularly intellectually stimulating, at least not in the same way that college was.  Sure, I can hone my expertise at computer programs and HTML code by attending classes and teaching myself, but that doesn't necessarily give me the same satisfaction as writing papers and engaging in thought-provoking classroom discussion.  I can virtually guarantee you that I am not alone, because nearly all of the people I know express a similar sentiment.  I have been feeling for months that I need to do something to challenge myself, and, by golly, I think I've found it.

My friend Lauren participated in a class called fem•ex, which found its origins as a women's empowerment class at UC Berkeley.  It has evolved into a grassroots organization aimed at providing women (particularly young professionals) with a safe space to discuss the questions and issues related to being a 21st-century American woman.  After hearing Lauren's glowing appraisal of the course, I couldn't resist signing up, thinking that this would be a great way to engage some incredible young women, have my beliefs challenged and challenge others' beliefs. I think that the class will also be helpful as, more and more, I am beginning to formulate my own political opinions, particularly those related to reproductive rights, women's health and women in politics. The sessions are held once a week at one of the participants' homes, and lasts 3 hours.

I just had my first class last night, and I was blown away by how much I enjoyed it! The theme for the week was Sex, Gender & Anatomy (sheesh, they had us jump right in there!), and I definitely learned a lot and appreciated the viewpoints of the other members of the class.  Next week's topic is Communication, something that I am constantly striving to improve at.  I think that this class is civil discourse at its finest, because women from all different backgrounds are able to have a civil discussion about very controversial topics. I am really excited to delve into more topics as they come along, as well as get to know this amazing and self-selecting group of women!!


To learn more about fem•ex, click here.

The Perfect Anniversary Weekend

"You're all that I want and more than I deserve.  I love you."  Okay, I have to give credit where credit is due: those were Hallmark's words, not Dan's, but he said that the sentiment conveyed in the anniversary card that he bought me perfectly phrased how he feels.  And I could not agree more with him.  Those two sentences also convey almost exactly everything I tried to in the pages-long note I wrote him about my favorite moments in the first year of our relationship.  Go figure, Hallmark wins for brevity, while still maintaining the sentiment, no less!

I'm still kind of walking on air today, even though it's Monday (and also, because of holiday weekends and travel, my first five-day work week in three weeks), because how could I not be after the completely perfect weekend that I had?  I won't bore you with too many details, but the highlights are as follows: on Friday night, we went to Saloon on U St., which is where we went for our first date.  We walked in and both immediately identified the table where we sat a year ago (sadly, there was another couple already seated there, so we had to sit elsewhere).  We rehashed our first date, blunders and all, again, which was a lot of fun.

On Saturday morning, we stopped at Blenhaim Vineyards, Dave Matthews' vineyard, on our way to Charlottesville.  If you are ever in the Charlottesville area, I would highly recommend stopping there, because they have really cheap wine tastings ($5/person), cheap additional glasses of wine ($5/glass), and then you get to keep the glass that you used for the wine tasting.  Their space is really remarkable, a very sturdy A-frame building with beams and high ceilings, and a nice little deck that we were able to sit out on because it was so pleasant outside.  It was so nice to break up our drive and enjoy some delicious wine there.

We stopped off at our ADORABLE B&B (patting myself on the back for yet another great find haha), which came complete with a working fireplace, maybe the part of the room that I was the most excited about :-)  We headed out to the Spanish/tapas restaurant that we had planned to go to for dinner, only to find that, in addition to not accepting reservations, had a wait of 18 parties.  Woof.  We quickly abandoned that idea, and actually had a difficult time selecting a restaurant given the lack of variety (this is when I began to feel guilty about my vegetarianism...but not enough so to eat meat).  We finally settled on a French restaurant called Bizou, which turned out to be delicious.

After dinner, we went back to the B&B, relaxed by the fire, sipped the champagne that my parents had given us, and chatted about how lucky we are (anniversaries definitely bring out feelings like that, even more so than usual- and, for those of you who know me, you'll know that I am never shy about my feelings).  It really was the perfect night, and we both agreed that it was so special that we had gotten to take the time out of our busy lives and celebrate the past year of our relationship. 

On Sunday, we had breakfast at the B&B, and the very sweet proprietor congratulated us again on our anniversary, which we very much appreciated.  Then, we stopped off at UVA and walked around campus for a bit (Dan had never been, and my dad and I went once when I was looking at colleges...7 years ago...yikes, I feel old!).  Then, we drove over to Monticello, which ended up being a great tour, despite the fact that it was freezing on top of the mountain.  TJ sure was a visionary!

I kept saying as we drove home that I didn't want the weekend to end, and, while Dan agreed, he pointed out that part of what has made our trips so special is that they break up real life (yeah, yeah, I guess the novelty of it would wear off eventually haha).  But I think the important thing that I try to keep in mind is that, while our trips and special occasions have been so wonderful and meaningful, every day with Dan has been special.  You know you're lucky when an evening spent at the phone store with your half-asleep boyfriend (yeah, that happened the day after Dan returned to DC after having driven through the night from NJ after Hurricane Irene.  Oh, yes, and his phone also broke, hence the AT&T store) is as wonderful as a weekend away in Charlottesville.  Merely being in his presence is enough to make me smile, so I am very aware of how fortunate I am in that respect.  I couldn't have imagined a better anniversary weekend, and I can't wait to see what this next year of our relationship holds!  I know I had trouble condensing my list of my favorite moments/days from our first year, because there were so many things that I loved!

Yet Another Reason Why I Love Georgetown

A short time ago, I blogged about women's health and about how, in the months preceding the 2012 presidential election, my views on the social issues that are coming to light in the context of the election are becoming increasingly clear to me.  The thing that frustrates me the most in the debates over contraception, abortion and a woman's place in the workforce is that women seem to be losing our agency in the debate. 

This past week, Sandra Fluke, a third-year Georgetown Law student and a former president of Georgetown Law Students for Reproductive Justice, was embroiled in a very public attack on her character after she testified before a Democratic mock panel in support of HHS' proposed mandate that would require all employers, even the religiously affiliated, to provide free access to contraception for their employees.  In response, Ms. Fluke was lambasted by Rush Limbaugh, in my opinion one of the most deplorable human beings on the face of the earth, who has made a career out of spewing off inflammatory comments in order to elicit a response.  His comments are not fit to be repeated here, and, in fact, I had a great deal of difficulty making it through the videos and articles I read detailing his response.  His comments were not only a direct and inappropriate attack on Ms. Fluke's character, but also an attack on all women.

News sources quickly picked up the story, and such an uproar was caused that many lawmakers even wrote a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, urging him and the rest of Republican senior leadership to reprimand Mr. Limbaugh for his disgusting comments.  Now, I would agree that the letter was very extreme, but, despite the fact that Mr. Limbaugh is protected under the law to freely express himself, his comments never should have been made.  He insulted a woman he had no knowledge of, calling her a "slut" for wanting free access to contraception (a very costly drug treatment if not covered by insurance)...but then saying that, if she wants to have so much sex, she should at least videotape it and put it on the internet for the viewing pleasure of others.  Way to make yourself look good, Rush.

However enraged I may have been by Limbaugh's rampage against Ms. Fluke, I could not have been more pleased by the response of politicians and of the Georgetown community.  President Obama called Ms. Fluke personally, and not only applauded her for taking a very public stand on an issue she is so clearly passionate about, but also reassured her that her family (which, I learned from an interview she conducted, is of a different political persuasion than she is) should be proud of her, contrary to what Limbaugh had suggested.  Point for Barack.  Then, John J. DeGioia, the President of Georgetown University, circulated an email to the campus community voicing his strong support for Ms. Fluke's respecful civil discourse, calling for everyone in the campus community to engage in such discourse, even if they are of a different opinion.  I was truly touched by his statement, because, being that President DeGioia is the president of the country's pre-eminent Catholic and Jesuit university, he is required to side with the Church on certain moral issues (even if those beliefs may not align with his own).  So, even if he does not personally agree with what Ms. Fluke is proposing, his strong support for her as a person and for her right to express her own personal beliefs brought tears to my eyes.  The president of a Catholic and Jesuit organization is not the first person I would have pegged to release a statement of that kind, but I think that it was truly significant, and, in a way, I believe it confirmed the fact that women should be their own agents, their health should not be dictated by men.  Point for DeGioia (and for the Jesuits).  Hoya Saxa.  I am so overwhelmingly proud of my University, and of Sandra Fluke for taking a stand that is so important to me as well.

For further analysis of President DeGioia's letter, I think that Jon Meacham did a very nice job. 

Post about anniversary weekend to follow :-)

A Very Special Day

I confess, I just stared at my computer screen for five minutes, trying to figure out how I wanted to write this post.  I have been anticipating March 3 for weeks (okay, maybe months) now, and even though it is almost upon us, I still have difficulty finding the words to describe what I'm feeling right now.

A year ago tomorrow (March 3), I went on a first date with a guy.  I was running slightly late (thanks to my bus) and, when faced with the choice to walk or metro to the bar where we had agreed to meet, I put my trust in my long legs to get me there more quickly.  A 20-minute power walk later, I arrived at Saloon, feeling (and looking, I'm sure!) like a hot mess, and apologized profusely, insisting that I am never late (I know that everyone always says that, but, in my case, it could not be more accurate).  We had a great first date- no, the best first date I've ever been on- complete with easy conversation and lots of laughter, and, at the end of the night, when he kissed me goodbye before scampering off the Metro, I had an inkling that he could be someone special. Somehow, despite some spilled water on my part (I think I was still recovering from my power walk) and the slight (less than 5 minutes) lateness, he still liked me enough to hang out again...thank God!  We were even joking the other day that it is a wonder that we went out again, being that we were both probably miserable from being in the middle of our Lenten deprivation (he gives up all soda and I give up all sweets, a huge sacrifice for both of us!)!

A year later, I have gone on many a date with Dan, but he still manages to bring a smile to my face every day, in a way that no one else can.  When I came back from Texas on Tuesday night, we were reunited in the cafe of the Whole Foods near my apartment, and I thought my face would break from how broadly I was smiling.  I am generally a happy person, but my happiness has shot through the roof since meeting Dan, and for that I am eternally grateful.  Speaking of grateful, the word gratitude is a word that has entered my daily vernacular since we started dating.  I give so much thanks every day for the fact that he came into my life, and I can't imagine my life without him.  I don't want to gush too much, because I know that he reads occasionally (and I don't want to embarrass him!), but he really does make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world :)

I can't wait to celebrate our anniversary this weekend!  Tonight, we're planning on going back to Saloon, the site of our first date.  On Saturday, we're taking a little trip to Charlottesville, where we're staying in an adorable B&B and visiting a winery (Dave Matthews' winery!) and Monticello.  I think it will be the perfect way to commemorate the past 366 (gotta include Leap Day) days, and I'm sure I'll have thoughts and pictures to share when we get home!

I Want to Go to There: Austin

(Liz Lemon reference, anyone?)

This past Friday, I journeyed to Austin for my long-anticipated reunion with Kate and Kristin, neither of whom I had seen since July.  I won't bore you with the details of the travel saga that ensued in getting there, but the gist of it was that there was a weather delay that meant a near-missed connection, all while battling a nasty head cold.  But the important thing was that I made it in one piece, only to find a very smiley Kate waiting for me at the bottom of the escalator at the airport!  Speaking of the airport, I knew I would like Austin when I passed by a bar on the way to baggage claim that had a live band...in the middle of the day!

Kate quickly whisked me off to a delicious dinner at a vegetarian restaurant, and then, to kill some time before Kristin's flight came in, we went to a wine bar for a few hours.  I felt kind of guilty because, between the cold and exhaustion from flying, I was struggling to stay awake, but I somehow made it and we were able to have a nice airport reunion with Kristin (AND we got to see her gorgeous engagement ring in person!!!!).  We drove back to Kate's adorable little house, and I collapsed into bed almost right away.

On Saturday, we moved slightly slowly because of the late night, and Kristin and I were thrilled to awaken to Kate's delicious Fig Bran Muffins, a nice Lent-friendly breakfast (both Kristin and I are almost puritanical in giving up all sweets for Lent).  Then, we headed downtown to the Alamo Drafthouse, a movie theater that serves food, so we could see The Artist (which would end up winning big at the Oscars the next day- I LOVED it!).  Afterwards, we drove by the original Whole Foods before stopping off at Allen's, one of Austin's most storied cowboy boot shops.  I am lucky in that my grandpa gave me two pairs of authentic Texas cowboy boots for free, so I got to sit back and watch as Kate and Kristin selected their boots.  Each pair was so special, and I got to enjoy wandering up and down the aisles while they made their selections.  Then we checked out the famous City of Austin mural, which made for some good photo ops.  For dinner, we got authentic Tex-Mex, which was, I have to admit, delicious.

Look at those beauties (actually, this applies to both photos)

And THEN...the main event of the weekend!!!! We went to the Broken Spoke, a honky tonk bar where we took an hourlong Texas Two-Step dance lesson, which was SO MUCH FUN!  When you're in a situation like that, you have to let go of any and all shame and just have a little bit of fun, which we certainly did!  After a few hours spent there dancing, listening to music and chatting, we went out on Rainey Street, which, although a largely residential neighborhood, boasts a number of bars in converted houses.  One of them, Icenhauer, was the one that we went to, and it felt as though we were at someone's (fancy) house, hanging out in their backyard with lots of under people, under heating lamps and by bonfires.  Did I mention that they served DELICIOUS sangria in mason jars for the low, low price of $8??? Perfection.

 The Broken Spoke, in all of its glory

 I was terrible at leading...

On Sunday morning, I went for a run at the hotel we had stayed at on Saturday night, determined to shake the last of my cold.  I felt great, so I took that as a sign that I was on the mend.  After a delicious brunch, we briefly walked around a really hipster farmer's market and then walked around a park (near Barton Springs, some natural springs that people were actually swimming in in February!!!! Yikes!) for a few hours.  Then, we got the most delicious dinner at an adorable little French restaurant before heading back to Kate's to watch the Oscars.  It was a wonderfully relaxing evening.

My beautiful friends, with Austin in the background

On Monday, Kristin and I were on our own since Kate had class, so, after looking at pictures of the red carpet from the previous night, eating breakfast, and chatting for a few hours, she and I went on a run around town.  By the time we were showered and changed, Kate was back and ready for a yummy pasta dinner and watching both the Georgetown game and The Bachelor, which we followed up by watching Fashion Police and discussing Kristin's wedding ideas.  We woke up bright and early to get off to the airport, and, before I knew it, our extended weekend was over.  However, I will never forget the heart-to-hearts and the new experiences that the three of us had together this weekend.

Throughout the weekend, I felt so inexplicably lucky to have such close friends who I would spend money on (and who have spent money on me) to go and visit, if only for a long weekend.  Those are the kind of friends that I always imagined for myself, even before Georgetown, and, throughout my time on the Hilltop, I found an incredible group of girls who have become like sisters to me.  While we may all be in very distinct stages of our lives, the thing that is unwavering is the extent to which we love and care about each other.  I remember when, at my graduation lunch with my family and friends, my dad and I posed for a photo with his Georgetown friends who were present, and I had a distinct moment of wishing that that would be me and my Georgetown friends over 35 years later.  I have confidence that these incredible women will be my friends for life, and words cannot express my gratitude that they have come into my life. 

A Weekend of Firsts

Okay, not to be misleading with the title, because not all of the things I did this weekend were firsts, but there were enough firsts that I found it worth noting.

On Friday night, Dan and I grabbed dinner with my siblings (for those of you who don't know me, I have one biological brother, but two additional "brothers" and one "sister," all of whom are very close family friends, close enough that I consider them all to be my siblings.  And luckily for me, all of them are Georgetown students, so we try to grab dinner every once in a while) at Tombs, which, as tends to be the case with that group, was marked by hysterical laughter.  I am often the butt of my brothers' jokes, but I have grown to realize over the years that that is how they show their love.  I love that Dan gets to see that side of me occasionally, because they teach me how I can't take myself too seriously, and make me realize that I am imperfect (not that I pretend to be imperfect when I'm around him haha).  After dinner, Dan and I grabbed a drink at Blackfinn in Bethesda, which I made a mental note of because it would be a great place to go out dancing.  Not exactly ideal for going and having a conversation with your boyfriend, but the atmosphere was neat.

On Saturday morning, it didn't matter that we were slow to get out of bed because our destination for the day, Annapolis, was only 45 minutes away!  Neither of us had been there before, so we decided to take advantage of the extra day and have ourselves a little day trip.  Now, I will tell you that there is not a whole heck of a lot to do in Annapolis, but it definitely reminded me of home in its New England quaintness.  We walked around by the water, got some lunch at a local bar, did a self-guided tour of the Naval Academy, walked a little bit more, got milkshakes and headed home. A quiet night at home with some pizza and watching the Georgetown game on TV was just what the doctor ordered. 

On Sunday, I went to high tea at The Mayflower with Lauren, which was so.much.fun.  Getting all dressed up to go sip tea (with pinkies out, of course) and eat tea sandwiches and sweets made me feel like a little kid again, and I was so happy to have gotten to share that experience with one of my best friends.  I had actually bought it for her as a part of her birthday present (for a birthday taht was in September), so I was glad that we were finally able to find a time to go.  Also, the waiter called me "Madame," so I was happy as a clam!  We then walked around and did some window shopping before meeting up with a couple of friends to see This Means War, the new Reese Witherspoon movie.  So disappointing.  Don't see it.

On Monday, Dan and I tasked ourselves with finding him some new work clothes.  On the top of the list were: a new suit, a dress shirt and dress shoes.  He had asked me earlier on in the week if I wanted to go, because I had expressed interest MONTHS AGO in going with him, because the thought of suggesting styles that I would like to see him wear helping him pick out clothes was fantastic!  I knew that he was not incredibly excited about going shopping so, wanting to make the experience a little bit more enjoyable for him, I got inspiration from one of our favorite shows How I Met Your Mother and downloaded the Robin Sparkles song, "Let's Go to the Mall" (seriously, watch it, and listen for the Canadian accent!).  I told him taht I would have a surprise for him when we got in the car and, when I queued up the song and he realized what it was, he burst out laughing.  So that loosened us up, only to completely have our moods deflated when we couldn't find a suit that fits him.  He is very slim, so needs a smaller size, but has long swimmer's arms, so needs long sleeves.  I found myself questioning every assumption I had made about men's clothing being more standardized and easier to shop for.  By midday, it was time to regroup, because I could see the frustration in his face, so, after lunch, we headed right next door (I told him that it was a sign), and found not one but TWO suits (both of which fit him!) at Men's Warehouse.  We had actually found him a dress shirt before lunch, so all that remained was finding him some shoes (which actually proved to be quite easy).  We were definitely weary by the time we got home from our shopping adventure, as evidenced by the fact that we spent the remainder of the afternoon watching Parks & Rec in Dan's room.  Haha, we were completely gassed!

Yet another incredible weekend, and in 3 DAYS (count 'em, three!!!!), I will be traveling to Austin to visit Kate and meet up with Kristin!  Ahhhhhh, so excited!

The Power of Positive Thinking

I try to maintain a generally positive outlook on life.  Sure, it can be hard, what with all of those First World Problems (I'm sorry, I just had to find a way to sneak that meme in there!) out there, but I really do try to take stock of all of the many blessings that have so graciously been given to me.

Molly got me a daily journal, in which you are allotted six or seven lines for each day, and each page contains the same date for five years (so, for example, the February 17th page contains space for me to write about that day in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016), and I have found that, in the month-and-a-half since I have been writing in it, it has been an incredible tool in my quest to make positivity one of the pillars in my life.  It forces me to look back at each day and pick out the positives (and trust me, there are always positives), because who wants to read a Debbie Downer message, particularly one that is condensed into seven lines, for each day?  Not this girl!  This adorable little journal (which, I believe was purchased at World Market...or, at least, has the look of it) has turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because I have noticed that, this year in particular, I am really taking a few minutes out of my day to think about all of the good things that happened that day.  It's how I stay sane, really.

I also do more extensive journaling, which I have always enjoyed.  I enjoy the creative outlet of journaling, the idea of writing down your deepest, most private feelings and knowing that your journal is not going to judge you for putting those feelings in writing.  For those of you who are working in your first post-undergraduate job, as I am, you will probably agree taht there are moments when you do not feel intellectually stimulated, so journaling is one of the ways that I do that for myself.  I recently completed a Strengths Finder evaluation for work, and, during my debriefing conversation with my coach, she said that I am incredibly self-aware.  I attribute a good deal of that to the journaling that I do.  Now, there are times when life gets in the way and I get very behind on writing, but I do always come back to it, and I know that I will look back on the journals I have completed with fondness.  I already do go back and read older entries, and it brings me so much joy to read about how I was feeling at a particular moment in my life, and also to observe how my thought process and my circumstances have changed so dramatically. 

I am also a HUGE proponent of therapy, but I understand that that really is not for everyone, so I think that journaling is just about the next best thing, in terms of organizing your thoughts in a coherent (or incoherent) way, recognizing patterns in behavior, and taking stock of all of the things that you are grateful for.