well, it's about time.

I'm happy to report that I am officially employed again...FINALLY!! Seriously, I really didn't think that it would take as long as it did. I know that the economy is in the toilet at the moment, but still. Since I've been here (since October) I've applied for more jobs then I can even keep track of, and this entire time I've only heard back from two; one of which ultimately decided not to hire after all, and this one that I accepted today. So, I'll be starting work on this coming Monday at Liberty Mutual Insurance. Yep, more insurance work for me. That's OK though, this way I won't have to learn the inner workings of an entire new industry, and my new job has quite a few similarities to what I was doing at Standard in Portland. Benefits are great too, and the pay is more than I expected which is nice. Tim's pretty happy as well, since this means that now I get to start helping pay for silly things like rent and electricity. I think I'm a little less excited about this then he is :)

Anyway, I'm off to take full advantage of my last three days of no work. Mostly that just means that I'm gonna spend the weekend in my pajamas watching TV, with a happy hour thrown in somewhere in the middle for good measure. I recently found out that an old friend from college lives here, so we're meeting up for drinks tomorrow. So, I won't be totally lazy all weekend...just most of it.

cheers!

oh, i sure do wish i could get a job...

I haven't updated my blog in a while. Mostly because I wanted my next post to be the big exciting "I got a job" post. That was supposed to happen later today, since this was to be the last of four interviews with Liberty Mutual (yep, I can't quite stay away from insurance). Let me tell you why that's not happening as scheduled...

We'll start with the dream I had this morning. I dreamed that I was interviewing to work at Radio Shack and was surprised when I showed up for the interview to see that I was working with all the people I used to work with at Suncoast: Rollie, Melissa, Matt, & George. Now, when I woke up, I didn't really know how to take this. Should I consider it a good sign...one that foreshadowed my getting hired today? Or, should I take it as a bad sign, and assume that I was going to end up working at Radio Shack? I took it as a good sign, since I seemed pretty happy in the dream.

So, I went on with my morning. I snoozed through my first alarm, since I did set it for ridiculously Early (6:00 am), and got up about fifteen minutes later, while it was still dark out. Showered, dressed, ate breakfast all before day light. Up until this point, I still liked the day so far. Then I turned on the news. I tune in mid report, and the first thing I hear is "...first snow storm of the season, better late then never." The first thing that goes through my head is: "Shit." I turned around and walked over to the window to find that the morning light slowly creeping into the day was in fact revealing a white canvas.

At this point, I'm still feeling a bit defiant of the weather, and fully intended on continuing on with the plan, undeterred. I-Will-Get-A-Job-Today. I'm just about to head downstairs to catch the shuttle to the Metro station when my phone rings. Now, my phone never rings, especially at that hour of the morning, so I know what's coming, and for the second time "Shit" runs through my head. I answer, and sure enough it's the woman I'm supposed to interview with. Now, to her credit, and the credit of Liberty Mutual, I should be pleased that I'm potentially going to work for a company that is so concerned with it's employee's well being, but at that moment I didn't really want to hear what she had to say. Basically, she was concerned with my ability to get all the way over to Rockville, MD from Falls Church, VA. And, to be honest I was a bit concerned myself at this point, but I really wanted to get hired today! Regardless, the interview has been postponed till Thursday.

Granted, Thursday is just two days away, and from what I can tell there is no snow in the forecast for Thursday...but come on folks! Short of a few flurries here and there, it hasn't really snowed since I've been here. Why is it that the one day I need it to not snow, it dumps a ton on us?! Sorry about the cussing, but I'll repeat myself..."Shit."

On a more positive note, Oliver sure does love watching the snow. He keeps jabbing the window with his gimpy arm trying to get the falling flakes. And, when he's not doing that he's transfixed on the black squirrels racing around in the snow (yeah, we have black squirrels here). It's pretty funny to watch him.

If all goes according to the new and improved plan, maybe you all will get the "I got a job" blog update on Thursday. Cross your fingers, apparently I need all the luck I can get. :-)

new years resolutions....right...like I'll actually end up keeping any of those.

I am going to try though. One that I'm kind of excited about is a project I'm doing over in Flickr land. I'm doing 2009 Year In Pictures (YIP). Basically I'm just taking a photo a day of anything I want every day this year. It makes me pick up my camera every single day, and also ties in with my second resolution, which is to save up and buy a fancy DSLR camera this year (though moola is required for that one, and I don't really have any of that right now, so it will have to wait a while). Here are the first three shots of the year:


And, as for the new year so far? It started out well enough, even though thus far it's been a chilly one. We spent new years eve outside huddled under heat lamps at an outdoor New Years Eve party on the harbor in Baltimore. Fifty bucks a person for zero degree windchill temps, appetizers, free beer/wine, sub par champagne at midnight, canceled fireworks and frozen solid toes...Oh well, at least we were with new friends starting out a new year. Can't really complain about that.

warning: the following contains complete randomness that may actually bore you to tears

Three totally separate and random anecdotes...

1) I'll be the first to admit that my dreams often make absolutely no sense, but last night's took the cake. I won't go into full detail, because I don't even think I can piece it all together, but here's the gist...Cast: Me, Tim, Kirsten, and my crazy seventh grade math teacher Mr. Dillion. Supporting Cast: dozens of puppies, kittens, and guinea pigs. Part one took place in a location much resembling a human sized version of Hobbiton from Lord of the Rings. Mr. Dillion had to park his Jeep on top of the garage because the garage was actually a makeshift barn where he kept all the puppies, kittens, and guinea pigs. We all had to leap from the roof of the garage to the ground bellow. When I lept I fell and broke my arm. Off to part two: Somehow I ended up in a castle, I'm assuming Buckingham Palace in England with one of the kittens from Mr. Dillion's garage/barn. I was trying to escape with the kitten. I ended up in a giant pink room with two armed guards (who much resembled the giant cartoon guards; the one's wearing playing card uniforms, from Disney's Alice in Wonderland). They wouldn't let me leave until they were finished carving the giant Christmas turkey. Then I woke up....Huh?

2) I pulled out my much neglected box of unfinished knitting projects today. Since it seems like half my friends are pregnant or have newborns, I figured it was about time I finished the baby booties that I started knitting almost eleven months ago. I'm lame, I know. The best part about this though, is that Tim sat down on the couch next to me and actually offered to help me knit. It was a well intentioned offer, but really didn't last long. There's something about a guy trying to knit pink baby booties that I don't think sat very well with him. Totally priceless though. I can't imagine that this scenario will ever happen again.

3) Tim relayed this story to me a few weeks ago, and I forgot about it until just a moment ago. Now, as a disclaimer, let me say that the man mentioned in the following walked away from this incident mostly unscathed, so I fell completely justified making fun and pointing out the hilarious irony of his situation...Apparently there was a guy, who for what ever reason was very very tired, and was driving home. As you can guess, he fell asleep at the wheel. This could have turned out tragically, as you can imagine, but instead of causing a car accident, he ended up driving his car right through the glass display window into a store front....and not just any store front, a mattress store. Yep, that's right. If this had actually made the news, I would have cut out the headline and mailed it into David Letterman for his "Headlines" segment (or is that Leno?). I can just see it now: "Man falls asleep at wheel and drives car into bed store." There's no way that wouldn't have made the show.

That's all for now. You can now return to your regullarly scheduled programs. :-)

the perfect way to spend an evening when your boyfriend is working graveyard shift

I was determined not to be bored tonight. So what cures boredom? Shopping, cooking, eating, movie watching and blogging.

Since I've been obsessed for some time with Thai food, I decided that it was about time that I learned how to cook something other then my normal canned yellow curry with chicken, carrots and potatoes. So, I layered up (since it's about twenty-five degrees here) and wandered over to Barnes & Noble to peruse the cookbook section. I found Easy Thai Cookbook by Sallie Morris and was delighted to find inside a recipe for my all time favorite Thai soup: Tom Kha Gai; if you've been to Typhoon you should be very familiar with this treat. Now, anyone who's tried to recreate a dish they've had in a restaurant probably knows that disappointment is almost inevitable, unless it's something like spaghetti that you're trying to copycat. So, my hopes weren't very high for this endevor, but regardless I wandered around the corner to the grocery store.

Ingrediants now displayed on my counter top, I delved in. And let me tell you, this tastes just like what you'll get in a restaurant. It was fantastic, and even more fantastic because even with my tempermental cooking skills, I managed to pull this off!!!

If you don't want to go buy the book, here's the recipe:
1 2/3 cups canned coconut milk
2 cups chicken stock
1 1/4 cups water
3/4 inch piece kha, peeled & finely sliced (now, I had never heard of this stuff, so I skipped it and all turned out just fine)
2 red chilies, seeded & sliced (don't seed them in hot water because you'll sneeze like ten times in a row)
1 lemon grass stem, lower 2 1/2 inches sliced
3 lime leaves, torn in pieces
4 TBS fish sauce (this stuff kind of groses me out, and really you only need 3Tbs for this recipe)
2 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
1 chicken breast (6 oz or so), cut into slivers
cilantro leaves to garnish ( I also used sliced green onions)
--mushrooms-- (not part of this recipe, but I've had it with button mushrooms before)

1) Heat chicken stock with the water, kha, chilies, lemongrass, and torn lime leaves
2) Stir in coconut milk, then add the fish sauce, lemon juice, and sugar. Allow to come to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
3) Bring back to a boil, drop in the chicken slivers a few at a time so that they remain separate. Cook 3-4 minutes until the chicken is cooked
4) Serve garnished with cilantro

YUMMY!!

Next up, the movie: "Priceless" with Audrey Tautou (the girl from "Amelie", one of my favorite movies ever). And yes, it is in french, so you have to be in the mood for subtitles. I've been waiting to watch this movie since Netflix delivered it five days ago. Waiting because I'm too nice of a person to put Tim through what he would consider a mind-numbing chick flick in another language. And, while I've been blogging I've also been watching the previews on the disc and should add that I am now very very excited to add the movie "Paris, Je t'aime" to my Netflix que. The cast seems to be quite good: Steve Buscemi, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Miranda Richardson, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Nick Nolte, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Elijah Wood, Emily Moritimer, Rufus Sewell, Natalie Portman, Gerard Depardieu, and Gena Rowlands. Can't be bad with a cast like that.

After the movie I get to finish decorating the christmas tree, and then I'll probably read some more of Toni Morrison's newest book A Mercy, play with Oliver a little bit, and go to sleep. All around, not a bad night.

:)

take a cue from Oliver and make yourself comfortable, grab a cup of coffee while your at it cos this updates long!

For a while there I wasn’t blogging because I simply didn’t have anything interesting to blog about. But, lately I haven’t been blogging because things got very busy there for a while! So, here come the highlights…

• We finally got a couch. It’s a nice couch. One that is a little less nice now because dear little Oliver peed on it two days after we got it. Now, we knew that this might happen, and we thought we had appropriately planned for this possibility. You see, when we purchased said couch we spent an extra $75 to get the stain resistant/waterproof “miracle guard” stuff so that it wouldn’t be a big deal when the inevitable happened. Well, it appears that we wasted $75 because our couch definitely smells like cat urine. I wrote the company an e-mail and told them that their “miracle guard” should really be called “big fat joke.”

• Tim’s mother flew in to town for Tim’s (second) graduation from the Park Police training program. This day also happened to be Tim’s Birthday, so this was all around a pretty busy day.

• And, that brings us to Tim’s (second) graduation. Now, I have no idea why they keep making these guys graduate. Isn’t once enough? He’d already received his diploma and his badge while training in Georgia. Got all dressed up and everything. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since the Feds really do love wasting time and money, but seriously? It was almost three hours long! Though we were treated to a slide show presentation of the rookies in training…the pic of Tim after being tear gassed was particularly amusing. All kidding aside, it was nice to see him in his dress blues and finally done with the longest part of the training.
  

• Next up: Thanksgiving. And for all of you who know that I don’t have the greatest skills in the kitchen, no, I did not cook a turkey. Though I did cook mashed potatoes (special, with cream cheese and sour cream and chives), stuffing, and gravy. It's actually a recipe I got from Sergio and Sherri's family, who we've spent Thanksgiving with every year since 1995 (except this year, of course). We ate with one of Tim’s friends from training and his fiancé, Kirsten, who live in the same apartment complex. This all went great, though I wasn't really prepared for eating dinner at noon. I think I just assumed that we'd be eating later in the afternoon, but it worked out just fine. Though, if I had known we were eating so early I definitely wouldn't have slept in so late, waited so long to shower or go to the store, and I definately would have started cooking sooner. No big deal though, we had a good time :) They're fun to hang out with.
  

• Somewhere in the midst of all of the above, we decided that it would be a good idea to move 36 miles away to Falls Church, Virginia. I could make up some really interesting story about why, like we got evicted or something, but then I’d just be lying. The reason is definitely not interesting at all. Where we were at in Maryland was too far away from absolutely everything, and since I don’t drive that was obviously a problem. If I had tried to get into DC from our apartment it would have taken me two hours one way, two buses, and one metro train. Plus, if I was working in DC, the earliest the system would get me into town was 8:30am, and if I had any plans of making it home at night the latest I would have been able to work would have been 5:30pm. One would have thought that we would have figured this out before moving there, but alas, we did not. Anyway, our new apartment is quite large, actually has a dining area, is three stories up so people aren’t walking right by our windows, is in a secured building, and is one twenty minute train ride to DC. And, there’s a free shuttle to the train station. A good move all around, I think. Though one draw back: It took me, Tim, some random guy who just happened to be walking down the hallway, and about twenty minutes to figure out how to maneuver the couch so that we could actually get it into the apartment (not to mention how long it took to figure out how to get it to fit in the freight elevator).
  

• And, speaking of the Apartment, it just so happens that I have a job interview tomorrow as a Leasing Consultant for this very building. I think it’s pretty ironic actually. We move all the way to Virginia so that my commute into DC would be more manageable, and now my commute might consist of simply walking downstairs in the morning.

• Finally, as of last night, Tim has actually started working in the field. We’ll almost. He’s doing ten weeks of rotations in the five different districts in the Park Police jurisdiction. This first two weeks they’ve thrown him to the lions. He’s working graveyard (6pm to 6am) in the ghetto. Though, I’m sure he’s going to end up with a ton of good stories, many of which I’ll probably end up wishing he just hadn’t told me. Last night was tame though, from what I hear. Though, I did learn that in the DC area there’s a law where you can’t hang stuff from your rearview mirror. I actually think Tim’s pulling my leg on this one, because that’s a totally stupid law, but sometimes I just can’t tell if he’s joking or not. edit: it appears that this was not a joke. It is, in fact, a law.
  

So that’s the last three weeks all wrapped up. Here’s a few tidbits that didn’t warrant there own bullet points: I found Tillamook cheese at Safeway, and Rogue beer at Trader Joes. Both of which are extremely cheap here. Apparently no one on the east coast cares about a fabulous cheese factory or brewery from Portland. Yay! That just means more for me. Also, I’m still thinking I might get to go to the inauguration in January. And better yet, I might also get to go to the National Prayer Breakfast with my Uncle in February. Apparently everyone who’s anyone in politics is there, and I’ll get to eat breakfast with the president (or at least I'll be in the same room).

That’s all for now.

the tie incident.

It's 6:30 AM and I'm already blogging? Here's why. At 5:28 AM Tim comes stomping into the bedroom, flash light in hand because he's trying not to wake me; his mutterings undecipherable. He's already been up for a while and as I glance at the clock I see that he has to leave in something like three minutes to meet the guys to go to work. I'm still refusing to let my brain fully wake up as I try to process the reason behind his need to tear the bedroom apart at this hour. He's looking under the bed, in/on/around the desk, in the closet. Back in the kitchen I can hear him open and close the dryer.

I'm awake enough to know that he obviously can't find something.

He's back in the bedroom, and in that half-annoyed-but-not-really-annoyed-still-half-asleep kind of way I ask him the inevitable "what are you looking for."

"I can't find my tie," at which I don't respond because initially I assume this is a problem he can solve himself. And then - more to himself then to me - "where the hell is it?" and then "watch your eyes." And, before I realize that this latest comment is actually directed at me, and before I can process the need to actually shield my eyes, the bedroom light comes on. Well, I'm awake now.

I ask "is it in the washing machine?"
"No," as he's back in the closet, fully tearing it apart.
"Is it in your bag?"
"No."
"Did you leave it in the car?"
"No, I had it in my hand when I came in the door last night."
"Don't you have another tie?"
"Yah, but I only have one clip."
"Does someone else have another one you can borrow?"
"No."
"And, it's not in your bag?"
"No," at which point I've given up on sleep, and I also know that he's hoping I get up to help, but doesn't actually want to ask me to get up and help, so I get out of bed to help. My initial thought is to check all of the places he's already checked - because, well, I don't really know why, but this just seems logical. So, the first place I check is in his bag.

I walk back to the bedroom. There are now socks strewn all over the place.
"Tim?" He turns around.
"Here." As, I hand him his tie.
"Where was it?"
"It was in your bag."

And so here I am, unable to get back to sleep at an hour that I haven't seen since, well, since I actually had a job, and I'm blogging. And instead of asking all the obvious questions about how his tie could actually be in his bag when he so definitely thought it wasn't, I'm instead asking myself how it's possible the government can issue a person two ties and only one tie clip. How much sense does that make?? They really can't afford two clips? Seriously? Seriously!

Seriously.

Back to bed.

one step forward and three steps back; isn't that how it goes?

I'm not as pessimistic as my title suggests, just a bit disappointed, that's all. Our country did a good thing on November 4th in electing Barak Obama as #44. We did what just 40 years ago wouldn't even have been thought possible. We made a giant sized step in the right direction. But, we've still got a long long way to go, and at the same time, on the same day, we took a few big ole steps backwards too.

As millions accross the world rejoice in this historical election, we have to also look at the states of California, Arizona, and Florida who, as of late last night had approved amendments to their state constitutions to ban same-sex marriage. Proposition 8 in California was approved by 52%, and is a proposition that actually overrides a state Supreme Court rueling that legalized same-sex marriage just six months ago.

So, as a country we're not done jumping hurdles yet, and maybe that's the beauty of it, because I don't doubt that we'll get there. Thanks to what happened on Tuesday, at least now I know that we're capable of it.

it's election day, hurray hurray!

Today I get to be proud that I’m an American. I get to be proud that tomorrow we all get to wake up having participated in the largest voter turnout in 100 years. I get to be proud that regardless of a blue or red victory we’re going to end up with either this country's first African American president, or our first female vice president (though I'm hoping whole heartily for a sweep for the Dem's). I get to be proud that tomorrow starts the long road to healing for this country. I'm worried about that regardless of who wins.

Today we get the opportunity to change the world with the force of our fingertips, and at the same time help change the course of history. Today we all get a voice.

So get out there and get your vote on.

The lines are long, so vote early. Wear comfortable shoes, bring a book, a jacket with a hood, and a cup of Starbucks (they'll give you a free cup o' joe if you mention that you voted). But most importantly bring your brain, and don't mess this one up. And, if you're from Oregon, you haven't voted until you actually drop off your ballot, so don't forget to do that, OK? And, just as a reminder, the presidency isn't the only thing we're voting on today. There are hundreds of state wide measures, and governor races, and house/senate elections up for grabs. Don't let all the other important issues fall by the wayside just because your pumped up for the president.

If you have any problem voting, need to know your polling location or find a way to get to the polls, please call a voter hotline: 1-888-696-7622.

And, come tomorrow lets all wake up with a big grin on our face, knowing that we did this. That after two years of campaigning, insult throwing, catch phrases, ads, conversations about black vs. white, jokes, analysis, and headlines, that we went to the polls, exercised our brains, and made our own informed choices. Lets be Americans and let's be proud of it.

Happy voting.

And for those interested in how I predict it will turn out, here's my electoral vote projection:

oh, to be a tourist

We've done the tourist thing a couple different times now. The first time I didn't take any pictures. Why? Well, it was an utterly dreary day which ended with us sprinting to the Metro stop in a total downpour. Definitely not picture worthy. The second attempt was better, though. No rain in sight; no clouds either, for that matter. So, here are some of the classic, though cliched Washington DC shots.

A few random observations:
*The city is smaller then I remember it
*The White House isn't quite as big and grand as I remember it being. Though, that is more likely due to my opinion of it's current resident. I suspect it's about to get much cooler.
*The distance between the Lincoln Memorial and the Capital building is definitely as long as I remember it. So much so that we didn't actually end up making it all the way to The Capital building.
*The Smithsonian museums are still cool (not to mention free), though I learned that going on a weekend isn't cool, unless you like crowds and hearing "ooooh, look how big it is" in reference to The Hope Diamond in 122 different languages.
*There is no shortage of Starbucks.
*The Lincoln Memorial is still my favorite. And as a side note, on the north wall, in the midst of an inscription of his second inaugural address, there is a spelling error. The word "future" is spelled "uture." This amuses me greatly.

That's all for now.