"You're Tearing Me Apart, DC!"

Well the past 10 days or so have been a bit of a whirlwind.

North Carolina

Mike had to renew his driver's license in North Carolina and since I had a car and little to do, I offered to accompany him on the road trip. As he told me, there was tons of good Southern food to enjoy. Highlights:

• Biscuitville where they had grits and apparently also sell plain 'jelly biscuits'. 
• A morning trip to a sad mall in Burlington which has seen better days. Less than half of the stores in the building are open. However, the mall has been transitioned into a 'track' or gym of sorts for Burlington's elderly population. When Mike and I walked inside, we were most definitely the only two people under 60 and I think we were moving more slowly than the silver sneaker walking club who were all walking and talking on a specific route and on a mission.
• Lunch at a cute vegan/vegetarian restaurant with Mike and his sister in downtown Chapel Hill that was really yummy and super reasonably-priced! I think it was called The Butternut Squash or something, but it looked so fancy and the hostess/waitress had the best London accent! (Which Mike will insist is the only reason I rave about it.)
• Trying Ethiopian food for the first time! It's very communal which can be weird if you're not used to it, but of course I've gotten very used to it. And note: when given the choice between the spiced coffee or tea, go for the tea!

Bye Bye Williamsburg

• After getting back to Williamsburg, taught my last yoga class ever and regular attendants imparted some final words of wisdom to me before I left. I also learned that my sister Courtney was in town briefly and I took time away from packing to get Pizza with her at Paul's (Paul's Pizza is the best pizza ever). It was also, fortunately, Dollar Corona night.

Court was super excited for some Paul's Pizza.

• After moving ALL of my life back to Warrenton, VA and being extremely cranky because it was hot and despise not knowing where anything is when I'm trying to pack for a weekend away, Yorky puppies made it better. 

This is the runt. His name will either be Rudy, Magellan, or Neville.

Back to DC

• After getting into DC that night, I got to meet Absi very shortly after arriving! After hearing so much about her, it was a joy to finally get to meet her in person. I also got to see Noah and Davia before they left for California and was introduced (FINALLY) to Pinkberry! Hands down, best frozen yogurt ever. Now I know I cannot live in Dupont Circle eventually. Because that is were my money would go. Right before leaving Dupont Circle to head back to Mike's for drinks, Absi and I decided we were very thirsty. I took us back into Pinkberry (which I remembered had free water) with the plan of explaining that we has just been there a second ago getting froyo and forgot to take advantage of the complimentary cucumber-infused ice water. It would take at most 30 seconds for us, right? Wrong. There were no ice water cups. There were plenty of froyo cups around, but we were not allowed to use them. The staff went into a complete insanity trying to find us the proper ice water cups and all I could think about was the scene from Love Actually where Mr. Bean wraps the present with a sprig of holly. That's how long and awkward and tense this waiting for the water was. However, we eventually got it and it tasted like heaven.

• Saturday Mike and I had dinner with Steph and Micah. Earlier in the summer, we had them over for dinner, but Mike and I agreed about 5 minutes into the dinner that they win best dinner hosting award. It was really no competition after we spilled all the quinoa on the floor, but, just to humor you, dinner included: homemade guacamole and chips, some brazilian rum drink with candied ginger, thai chicken and rice, sake, and more mixed drink tasting. We provided the dessert. Mike had already had a few drinks when he plated them, so this was the result:

Giant Patriotic-ish Dessert. Angel food cake, strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream.

Awesome company!

• After dinner, we traveled back into the city to see the midnight showing of The Room at E Street Cinemas, the cutest little indie movie theater in downtown DC. We met up with Jeff, Josh, Sara, Tommy, and Mark and got a picture to record the moment. I learned that we had JUST MISSED playing football with Tommy and Mark and will never live it down. If you have not yet experienced The Room, you don't know how awesome this picture is or how having Tommy talk in front of you for like 20 minutes can make you question whether this guy is for real. Mike thinks he's an actor. I think he's for real. 

Me: But Tommy I have a red dress! Tommy: Okay you stand by me. And then he signed my shoe.

An awesome weekend and I'm so grateful to have had such a support system during the move. My stepdad came down at 8am. Mike transformed into the Hulk and moved huge pieces of furniture like they were nothing. My sister Kim drove me to the metro late on Friday and picked me up on Sunday because I was so tired of driving. And anyone who listened to me vent about how much I hate packing.

Quick Review of the Dark Knight (and how much I love southern food)

The plan was for Mike to come down Friday evening and see The Dark Knight Rises with me. I had already gotten us tickets for the 10:30pm showing at Movie Tavern (a movie theater you can also eat and drink at), but got a disappointing text from Mike at about 9:00pm about a 'freight train emergency' and that he did not know when he would arrive. Given that the theme of this past week has been #lessonsinpatience (I will not go into details), I decided I would simply get some coffee, wait for him, and hope for the best. It's not like this was going to be the only time for us to see the movie.


Fortunately, my patience paid off (and 'emergency' was an exaggeration, I believe). Mike arrived just in time for me to finish my cappuccino, us to get to the theater, him to order dinner (and me two glasses of wine), and us to see all of the previews! (Who cannot wait for Man of Steel and The Hobbit?.....THIS girl.)

My review of the movie is as follows. It is brief, so read between the lines. Though I would love Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Loved Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Thought I would hate Anne Hathaway. Didn't hate Anne Hathaway. Bane scared me. I left the theater having cried and covered my eyes on numerous occasion. I left satisfied. The end. Also of note: Mike surprised me with three different varieties of Dark Chocolate that night: sea salt, orange, extra dark. Sea-salted dark chocolate is the best.

Saturday (today) we traveled to his hometown of Burlington in hopes that he might renew his license and for us to visit with his family. I do not think renewing his license will be completely painless but, since I had nothing to do this weekend, I volunteered to tag along. Decisions I am proud of. His grandma happens to be the World's Best Southern Cook. Lunch was: crab salad, garden fresh tomatoes and cantaloupe, with whole wheat crackers. Dinner was: pinot grigio, ribs, squash casserole, corn, black-eyed peas, marinated tomatoes and cucumber, bread. Oh, and homemade peach cobbler with amaretto ice cream for dessert. I never want to leave.

Goals for the rest of my time in North Carolina: Use every spare minute to churn out job applications. Meet up with Sarah in Chapel Hill. Run to counteract most of the southern cooking I plan on inhaling.

Much love.

On Waiting and Risk-Taking...

On waiting:


Excerpt from one of my favorite chapters in one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors. Because sometimes Shauna explains things better than I ever could....


“I have always, essentially, been waiting. Waiting to become something else, waiting to be that person I always thought I was on the verge of becoming, waiting for that life I thought I would have. In my head, I was always one step away. In high school, I was biding my time until I could become the college version of myself, the one my mind could see so clearly. In college, the post-college “adult” person was always looming in front of me, smarter, stronger, more organized. Then the married person, then the person I’d become when we have kids. For twenty years, literally, I have waited to become the thin version of myself, because that’s when life will really begin. And through all that waiting, here I am. My life is passing, day by day, and I am waiting for it to start. I am waiting for that time, that person, that event when my life will finally begin.


I love movies about “The Big Moment” – the game or the performance or the wedding day or the record deal, the stories that split time with that key event, and everything is reframed, before it and after it, because it has changed everything. I have always wanted this movie-worthy event, something that will change everything and grab me out of this waiting game into the whirlwind in front of me. I cry and cry at these movies, because I am still waiting for my own big moment. I had visions of life as an adventure, a thing to be celebrated and experienced, but all I was doing was going to work and coming home, and that wasn’t what it looked like in the movies.

John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” For me, life is what was happening while I was busy waiting for my big moment. I was ready for it and believed that the rest of my life would fade into the background, and that my big moment would carry me through life like a lifeboat.

The Big Moment, unfortunately, is an urban myth. Some people have them, in a sense, when they win the Heisman or become the next American Idol. But even that football player or that singer is living a life made up of more than that one moment. Life is a collection of a million, billion moments, tiny little moments and choices, like a handful of luminous, glowing pearl. It takes so much time, and so much work, and those beads and moments are so small, and so much less fabulous and dramatic than the movies.


But this is what I’m finding, in glimpses and flashes: this is it. This is it, in the best possible way. That thing I’m waiting for, that adventure, that movie-score-worthy experience unfolding gracefully. This is it. Normal, daily life ticking by on our streets and sidewalks, in our houses and apartments, in our beds and at our dinner tables, in our dreams and prayers and fights and secrets – this pedantic pedestrian life is the most precious thing any of use will ever experience.” 

― Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life

from: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/425914.Shauna_Niequist


On Risk-Taking:


How to get guaranteed results in anything: http://bennesvig.com/2012/06/26/how-to-get-guaranteed-results-anything/

Weekends I Want to Relive Over and Over Again

I know I haven't posted in a while. But even though I have not been able to find the time or words to post about the past couple of weekends, they definitely need to be recorded.

It all started with:

• June 22-24: I knew one of my favorite bands was playing this weekend in DC, but was so tired from driving up a lot that I was not planning on going UNTIL 1) I heard there was going to be a party for Davia's birthday which I knew I had to attend and 2) two other girls from Williamsburg were willing to carpool with me so the trip sucked less. P.S. the trip still sucked. We passed through probably 3 storms and past maybe 4 accidents. Worst drive ever.

• Paper Route at The Red Palace

So glad I made the decision to come up because it meant I got to see these guys in action. As soon as I got off the metro on Friday, I met up with Mike, his friend Megan, and had dinner with them both. Then Mike 'surprised' me by saying he was coming to the concert too and we met up with Kelly, Jake, and Alex at Dangerously Delicious Pies before heading over.

Paper Route

• Davia's Disney Party

I spent Saturday prepping for Davia's epic Disney Party with Noah, Davia, Josh, Sara, and Goo. This mostly involved me trying to help Noah bake cakes, but losing patience and focus whenever a new disney movie from the marathon of disney movies was put in. Plus, I knew I had to transform into Tinkerbell (casting by Goo) and that it wasn't going to be easy. With help from Sara who gave me Tink hair and makeup and all of the people who kept fixing my wings all night, I feel like I was a pretty good Pink Tink. Mike was Captain Hook. Other highlights of the night include......well, everything was a highlight. Pretty much every person, every costume (especially Gaston), every new friend, every side dish was a highlight. It was the best of parties.

Tink and Hook

• June 29-July 1

• Murder Mystery Dinner Party

Saturday Mike and I went to see a movie to beat the heat, and that night, Davia hosted a Murder Mystery Dinner party in which I was supposed to be a French socialite from the 1940s. So um...I completely forgot the 1940s detail, but I think I saved my character with my authentic French accent, right? I said 'oui' a lot. The dinner (by Sara, Davia, and Noah) was just amazing. Highlights include me introducing the group to how danceable Flo Flo + The Machine is and oh my a chocolate pate.

Baby ducklings found on Sunday morning walk to the Kennedy Center, which has become a favorite routine for me. 

• July 3-July 8: Because the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays and fireworks some of my favorite things, I made an executive decision to drive up to DC for the holiday. Most of my 'executive decisions' involve polling a wide group of people as to what I should so then when someone advises me against my inclination, I get very rebellious and decide I'm going to do it anyway. Silly. So I ended up in DC for the Fourth and was going to drive the boyfriend back down with me that weekend.

• FroYo

Immediately upon arrival in DC, Mike took me to get froyo from Sweet Green, which is a salad place, but I believe has the best froyo I've tried so far in the city. He knew this was necessary to destress me from the drive up. He is learning. Then we spent the rest of Tuesday evening hanging out with some of his friends who had become refugees at his apartment since they had lost power. Topics included yoga  and introducing Michelle to #WSWCM.

• The Fourth

The next day Mike and I went on a run across the city. It was pretty early and still SO hot. He had my On-the-Go playlist and I got to listen to a Zombie running app on his phone which was supposed to scare me into running faster. Wimping out, I walked after about 20 minutes. But we got falafel from Amsterdam Falafel and that made everything better. Then we played putt-putt at a mini golf course that opened on the 4th in the National Building Museum, went to a cookout with deviled eggs, mojitos with basil, and orange and rhubarb pie (courtesy of Miss Reno), and I tried steak! Fireworks on the Mall were amazing and we met up with Mike's roommate David and girlfriend Shannan after for the LONG walk back to their apartment. (There was no getting on a metro.) We stopped to sit by a building with mysterious coolness to tease us and eventually made it back. Probably between 8 and 10 miles total for the day.

• Zoo and Paella!

The next day Shannan and I got coffee together and checked out the entire National Zoo. This was the first time I'd done the zoo in its entirety since I was just a little tike visiting with my family.

 Elephant throwing dirt on himself for sunscreen.

Monkey. Just chillin. Loved this little guy.

After the zoo, Mike and I met up with Jeff and Sara for tapas in Chinatown. One word: Paella. Okay second word: Sangria. I seriously need to learn how to make some Paella though. The food and the company were amazing.

Funk/Jazz? band jamming out in Chinatown when we got off the metro. We noticed more than one person/couple bopping to the beat.

• Williamsburg

Friday was the trek back to Williamsburg. The weekend's highlights included a screening of Independence Day (which I had been too tired to watch on the Fourth, but am still so grateful that happened), the farmer's market (which contributed tomatoes and goat cheese for tomato sandwiches and peaches for our cereal), and the Men's Wimbledon Final on Sunday morning! I am so sad Murray did not win, but I will always be a Federer fan first. Murray's post-match speech definitely got me teary-eyed, but I know he will eventually get this title.

Um, I think that was everything. Three weeks left in Williamsburg. I feel like I need a bucket list or something. 

Funemployment

I don't want to write a recap about the weekend just yet because I am still recovering and I am sad that it is over. It involved seeing all of my favorite people, a concert, and an all-out Disney costume party, though, so get excited for that post. I feel like I get so spoiled every weekend I visit up there, even when the traffic makes me never want to drive again.

In returning to the 'new normal' of what my summer has become, I am enjoying the pros and cons of what Josh framed for me as "Funemployment": a term I have latched onto because it makes it sound better than it is.

My Funemployment involves 4 main components: babysitting 2 young boys on Mondays and Wednesdays, teaching yoga, continuing GA tasks, and job applications. I am learning so much in each of these positions.

Babysitting: I had no experience babysitting boys prior to this summer. I grew up with two younger sisters and had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I learned very quickly some basic rules. 1) When in doubt, make explosion sounds. 2) Just let them tie you up sometimes. 3) I'm always the bad guy.....The only rule I have for the boys every day is "No lying". They break it every day mostly in the form of "Mommy always lets us ______!" No, I found out, Mommy does not let them have cookies for breakfast, have two sweets a day, play soccer in the house, etc.

Yoga & GA: I have greatly enjoyed my return to teaching yoga (3 times a week!), making my own playlists, and being forced to take out time for myself to be mindful. It really does make a difference and I believe works to combat some of the I-have-no-idea-where-my-life-is-going anxiety. They have also started phasing me out at my previous GA which included putting up the names of the new people who are going to start in the Fall. To ease me through the transition, they left my name on the office white board, and I greatly appreciate that.

Job Applications: Having gone through the lull and uncertainty of not having a job upon graduation before, I knew what to expect. I don't handle change well, and so I knew that patience and perseverance would have to become my new best friends. Still, I've developed a blurb to use for the dreaded "So what are you planning on doing now?" question. I'm "searching for jobs in the nonprofit, counseling, or higher education fields within the DC Metro Area." My lease ends at the end of July so if I do not have a job by then, I will find a new base of operation either at home or somewhere else convenient from which to keep persevering and patiencing.

My youngest sister who also just graduated (from undergrad) is also going through the job search process. She has started blogging here: http://kimhutcheson.blogspot.com/ and is clearly the more talented and artsy of us sisters.

Okay since I need a picture for this post, I will leave you one of how Rupert has been enjoying my funemployment.

Ridiculous.

Weekends do not get better. Fact.

After dropping off Sam for his flight last Tuesday morning, I finished a major work assignment and headed back to Williamsburg that night. I also found out that I had an interview in DC Friday afternoon. The plan was to leave Friday morning, but then I realized I would need a place to put my stuff during the day so I really needed to go up Thursday evening. I realized this Thursday afternoon. If there is anything that brings out Stressy Kelsey, it is last-minute changes in plans. The only thing that kept me calm enough to get everything together in 2 hours was the fact that I was bringing Cheese Shop with me (bread ends and house dressing) and I knew this would make some WM alums very happy.

On my drive up, I only lost about $15.00 trying to work the metro station that would allow me to park overnight. Even though 'multi-day parking' was labeled with sharpie on white copy paper taped in front of parking spaces, I will say that the metro hotline person I talked to was very nice. Upon arriving in NOVA, I was blessed with an invitation into the very exclusive fort that I had heard so much about. The fort is better than anything I've ever created in my childhood. There are rules to provide just the right amount of structure. There is ambience. There is amazing food courtesy of Steph. Then we added Star trek and Clone High. I missed the fort as soon as I left.

Friday was interview day so I spent the morning preparing and, of course, got there 45 min. early. Thankfully, there was a coffee shop close by that I hung out in until it had reached the perfect clearly-early-but-not-too-creepy time of arrival. Interview went well and afterwards, since Mike and I had plans to host Steph and Micah over for dinner, I went to whole foods to pick up the ingredients of a recipe Noah had sent me online.

Main Course: Quinoa Stir-Fry with Vegetables and Chicken! The more cilantro, the better. I highly recommend trying this recipe when you're in the mood for something light and healthy with a lot of flavor:

http://www.handletheheat.com/2010/03/quinoa-stir-fry-with-vegetables-chicken.html


Dessert: I don't know what it's called, but Steph created something with egg yolks, sugar, marsala, dark chocolate, and cream that tasted like heaven. Very rich, but a perfectly easy dessert. Here is something similar I found from Alton Brown minus the chocolate and cream melted together and stirred in:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/zabaglione-recipe/index.html

Saturday, I showed Mike where his gym was and then was embarrassed in a push-up contest. We also went suit shopping and to the zoo. I felt a LOT of pressure going suit shopping with Mike since he normally goes with no less than 3 people, but had so much fun. I even took some pictures. This one is my favorite:

Taking this mission VERY seriously.

After a productive suit shopping outing, we went to the zoo, but, unfortunately, I wimped out after the elephants, and needed froyo stat. Plus, we learned that Selena was in town and that meant a trip to Silver Springs later that night. We watched basketball and ate applecake and saw the greatest lego collection known to mankind. After babysitting, I hated legos and thought they were every mother's worst nightmare. Now I've seen their true potential. 

The next morning, Mike and I met up with Kelly, Alex, and Jake for what was a very successful brunch. These kids know how to brunch out, but I think this was one of our better brunches by far. We all had bottomless mimosas, talked jobs and mutual friends, and even started brainstorming for the New Years reunion. That is productivity. There were many deets tweeted and a few instagrams:

"How much does a hipster weigh? An instagram!"

Finally, to complete an epic weekend, I finished my first viewing of The Room, as well as the special features interview with Tommy Wiseau. I will have to watch this movie at least 5 more times before I'm able to fully reflect on it. Good news: I've already got most of the audience responses down. Bad news: Apparently there will be no more live stagings of it. 

I am back in Williamsburg and ready to rest and get back to work after two amazing weekends with friends.

I will leave you with a few of my favorite The Room quotes: 

"I FEEL LIKE I'M SITTING ON AN ATOMIC BOMB WAITING FOR IT TO GO OFF." "Me too."

"Leave your stupid comments in your pocket!"

"I miss you. I just saw you. What are you talking about?"

But I do miss DC already.

Sam Visits!

The past two weekends have been such a blur, but they were both so amazing that I think each deserves a separate post.

First two weekends ago, on Friday night, Wendy and I got into the city at the same time as like 2 tornados. Yay. But we both still managed to go out and meet up with people at Sara and Davia's new place which is adorable. Highlights of the night include BSB covers, homemade cornbread, seven layer dip, and being introduced to Cards Against Humanity.

On Saturday, my pen pal Sam and I finally met for the first time. Sam and I became pen pals during a 7th grade Civics project. Pen pals were the cool thing to do at least for a couple of weeks until everyone else stopped writing to their pen pals. Sam and I were unaware pen pals stopped being cool so we just kept writing to each other.....for 13 years. We sent pictures and presents, told stories about pets and relationships and family, and saw each other through graduations, moves, breakups, and jobs. When facebook became 'a thing' sometime during college, Sam and I switched to communicating more online.  He told me last year that he was thinking of playing rugby in the U.S. for a little while and, of course, I was a huge fan of this idea.

He actually did plan a visit and came to the States to play rugby in Cincinnati in March. This was the middle of my last semester of my Master's so I didn't even have time to think about planning a visit until after graduation. Sam bought his tickets to DC as a last stop on his way home back to New Zealand for early June. Last Saturday, my roommate Wendy and I went to pick him up at Dulles without any real plan except for to do all of the touristy things we could fit into one day.

We were all running on little sleep. Sam running on less, which is why he has the Red Bull.

After checking Sam into his hotel, we met up with Mike, who showed us around to all of the monuments, memorials, museums, and The White House. Then we proceeded to collect Josh, Sara, Noah, and Kim on our tour which I am grateful for because, if I didn't have all of these knowledgeable people along, I would have just had to make up pieces of our history for Sam. Later that evening, we decided against showing Sam Americanized versions of 'meat pies' and went back to Mike's place for pizza and beer (almost as American as it gets).

Sunday, Mike, his roommate, and I went back to the cutest little crepe place we had gone the day before and were each handed like 8 different samples of gelato. Each flavor was apparently better than the flavor before somehow. I like this crepe place. The Sam met up with us and him and I left the city to head back to Williamsburg after collecting Wendy. Sunday night a bunch of us introduced Sam to the delis, Mug Night, and to cheese fries: there you have Williamsburg nightlife.

Monday, (because I had to babysit), Wendy took Sam on a tour of Colonial Williamsburg and The Outlets. He came back with like 5 bags of stuff after his trip, including chocolates for Wendy and I thanking us for hosting him. Unfortunately, I had to take Sam home that night since his flight was the next morning and I committed the unforgivable sin of not taking him to The Cheese Shop before leaving Williamsburg. He had just eaten though! And we got Chick-Fil-A on the drive up!

Tuesday, I talked my sister into coming with me and Sam to the airport. Traffic was crazy and a great reminder why I never want to be a NOVA commuter, but we got there with plenty of time to snap a pen pal picture!

Goodbyes outside of Dulles.

Now to begin planning my trip to New Zealand:)