Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Good Famous Stuff

A new restaurant opened in my neighborhood called Good Stuff Eatery. Chef Spike from Top Chef dreamed up the concept of a burger, fries, and shake shop where people eat the good stuff from their childhoods. The shakes are big, burgers are decent, and fries a little limp, but the fun atmosphere will bring me back. The prices are fair for the location, too.

My favorite part is secretly that it was opened by someone famous. Chef Spike is there in his funky hats nearly every time I pass by on my walk home. I like to tease my roommate about dating Chef Spike. But really, what a great set up that would be! He could cook for us all the time. Then he could invite us to his friends' restaurants. I could be the girl in the background of cooking shows tasting the food.

Such talk of dating Chef Spike is a strange funny reality/unreality that occurs in big cities. This would not happen in my small hometown. Then again, Chef Spike's work schedule would be prohibitive for a serious relationship. This is the blunder in the plan. At least it will give me something to plot over on my walk past every day.

Similarly, a friend of mine had been dating a guy who came from a wealthy family. The guy purchased expensive bottles of wine on dates and refused to ride the metro. Though women joke about dating rich men, I have never actually encountered a close aquaintance that did date a man with lots of dough. In the end, my friend found that this particular man did not relate to the average working person, nor would he choose to experience her type of lifestyle (such as by riding the metro). She broke up with him. This opens many questions about how money and lifestyle affect one another, or not. I could go on and on at this point. Instead I will chalk it up as another thing to think about on my walk home.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Play Me Some Mountain Music



Last weekend some friends and I rented a car and explored the Appalachian Mountains. We canoed down the Shenandoah River and camped near the tranquility of the rushing waters. The next day we drove through the National Forest and hiked to Mary's Summit. The hike took only about an hour to the top, but the view rewarded us for fighting the bugs. Other hikers told us they saw bears just a few miles earlier. While the Appalachians pales in comparison to the size of the Rockys, the proximity of the adventure to DC leaves no reason for us to stay home.

While on Mary's summit, the clouds rolled in and reminded me of how I wanted to lay around in clouds as a child. I always thought it would feel like one of those giant ball rooms that kids played in at McDonalds, except softer. The cartoons made an afternoon lounging in the clouds look so appealing. I have seen clouds before in the Rockies, on flights, etc. Every time the same idea pops into my mind. Good thing I never sat in a cloud. I would fall right through.

On our drive back into the city we spotted Mayor Fenty in his black SUV jamming out to some tunes. Welcome Home!

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Busy Day II

To clarify an earlier post, I intended the busy day post to be my transition back into regular blogging. Now, I will attempt again to blog a few times a week. Here goes!

Red River




For the fourth of July, I visited a quaint Wisconsin secret locally known as Red River. This is an unmarked part of a river where people park in an unmarked parking lot type area and swim in rapids. While attempting to reach the deepest part of the river, I noticed something crawling on my foot, then saw a crayfish. Soon after, I slid down the rapids on my posterior and called it a day for swimming. Mainly I feared the crayfish. I transitioned from an olympic rapids swimmer into a national geographics photographer of crayfish.

The real reason Red River holds such a special place to me is the unique gathering of Wisconsinites that can be found there. Everything from the [tatoo-ed, smoking, drinking, ride your motorcycle down a steep hill to the river bed] type person, to the [family grill out] crew. I rolled in with my father who sat recovering from a surgery and my sister who sat with a generic brand ipod listening to her biology teacher's class and studying for an exam. We didn't exactly fit into either of the above category of Red River dweller. All types can be found at Red River.

Wisconsin. I love it.

First Cucumber



My mentor at work gave me the first cucumber harvested from her garden this season. She thought to herself for a while about who would most appreciate the cucumber and I won that contest.

The cucumber is photographed here beautifully next to the tent I weather proofed last weekend. This was a free tent I received with the points I earned for researching on Westlaw or some legal database during law school. Two points for the cucumber, two points for the tent.

You likely asked yourself whether I enjoyed the cucumber. Why, yes I did. I ate it in spears like french fries as I sat next to those enjoying McDonalds at the airport on Sunday. Had McDonalds offered the mango shake I thought I noticed on the flight home, I would have indulged. But no, I ate to my heart's content - of the first cucumber harvested this season.

David Beckham


At a DC United soccer match vs. the LA Galaxy, I discovered that pro-soccer has some of the best fans. Particularly in DC, the only city where I've seen pro-soccer, the game raises my spirits for at least the next whole week. There is serious salsa music, fans banging on drums, gigantic flags, confetti, and the occasional spice girl's husband. Also, when I see people smoking in no smoking zones I am brought back to Guatemala where the law is what people perceive as common sense. Why wouldn't I smoke at a soccer game? Common sense. To be clear, I wasn't the one smoking in the no smoking zone. It represented for me the days of last summer in Guatey. Back to soccer though, I highly recommend you visit me on a weekend when UC United plays.