Whoa, actually posting.
Updates!
Yes, it’s been awhile, what can I say? In the interim, I aged a year - 23 seems really old to me - found an apartment that’s totally wicked; developed a new television obsession; sort-of rekindled things with Tom; and picked up running again.
I know, it’s a lot.
Thus I have opted to post in sections to make it easier to navigate and easier for my anal-retentive self to categorize in my head.
Turning the Big 2-3
Totally low-key, which is what I was looking for. I’m not really a partier, so being forced to go out on my birthday bugs the crap out of me. I also tend not to care where we go out to drink, just as long as I can hear myself think; my friends, however, think they’re being inclusive by letting me pick the place. Instead I just get irritated, which is wrong ‘cause they’re just trying to be nice.
Anyway, on my birthday Chelsey, Jess and I went out to dinner at my favorite sushi place, so that was really tasty. And Chelsey made me a red velvet cake which is my favorite. She likes to bake, so I was totally dropping hints for two weeks in the most unsubtle way possible. “Mmmmm, I’m eating a red velvet cupcake from the Georgetown Bakery and it’s the best red velvet cake ever. And I love all red velvet cake…” And more in that vein.
The following night we went out for my friend Kristin’s birthday - hers is the 19th - and just celebrated like it was still mine as well. We went to Adam’s Morgan, which is like the new over-crowded douchebag scene, but it was fun ‘cause I was with friends. At one point, Chelsey, Ashley and I disappeared to go get empanadas and that was like the best part.
My friend Trey came down for the weekend from Jersey and asked if he could sleep at my place because our friend Kevin from Chicago was already staying with Kristin. I was a little reluctant, because I know that Trey had a thing for me for awhile. Most of the weekend was fine, but as it was winding down I spent a really long time trying to dissuade him from to make a move. As in “Wow, that’s my personal space - oh hey, look! It’s a shiny light, I’m going to go look at it right now. As quickly as possible.” Yeah, I know this sounds a little egotistical, but it turns out I wasn’t imagining it, either, as he sent me several drunk texts and an email the next weekend offering to stop by in Washington on his way to school to see me. I guess it’s nice to know I still got it, so to speak, but I don’t want to hurt his feelings, either.
My (soon-to-be) new domicile
I actually got the first place I looked at, which was glorious, as apartment hunting in this city is a cutthroat nightmare. First, it’s a studio and I’m living by myself, which I’m insanely pleased about. Chelsey and I get along well as roommates, but I’m picky and prefer things to be set up a certain way. Plus, during the apartment search it was difficult to find places that worked for both of us; while ultimately, we had the same general ideas about what we wanted, we couldn’t agree on the specifics of exact neighborhood, size, cost, etc.
Anyway, the apartment itself is perfect. The house is in Columbia Heights/Petworth which has its rough spots, but is something I’m pretty used to. I have the basement solely to myself, and it’s really beautifully finished. One of the great things about it is that it’s somewhat partitioned, so it seems like separate rooms even though it’s not, and there’s plenty of space for my cats to get away from each other. It has both a back door and a front door, and I get full use of the yard as well. My landlady is awesome - she works with wood and travels all over the country and collects beer bottles and beer bottle openers - seriously, it’s perfect. I move on August 15th and I really can’t wait. I’ve already started packing. When I get settled in, my enthusiasm will probably lead me to post pictures. I know that I threaten that a lot with few results, but I might actually follow through this time.
The finest ad men in New York
I am head-over-heels, completely, absolutely in love with “Mad Men”. Has anyone here seen it? It’s amazing. The drama is compelling, the period details are spot on….gah, it’s just so perfect in every way.
I’ll probably end up trying my hand at a video for it soon, but only because I found the perfect song.
Oh, and apparently I have a friend who has been working in the production office this summer. He says that Christina Hendricks is really quite bubbly in person, and that Jon Hamm is really that foxy. I went through a ridiculous squeeing fan-girl moment when he told me.
The Boy...
When I had my little episode earlier this year, I kind of stopped answering his calls. It wasn’t personal, I swear - there was a period where I literally didn’t talk to anyone at all. Right before I got this job, I showed up at the first happy hour with Christina and Mike in awhile and Tina punched me really hard in the shoulder, gave me a hug, and told me to never pull that crap again. I guess I hadn’t realized how long it had been since I’d talked to anyone.
Anyway, he took it surprisingly well at the time. Or at least he didn’t call me in a rage and confront me for blowing him off. I feel like this was a really mature reaction considering I probably couldn’t have handled it.
About two weeks ago, I called him and we chatted a bit just to catch up. And then I talked to him on my birthday, and last weekend we tried to meet up to go to a movie. In the end that failed because we tried planning it too late, but he asked me if I wanted to go see a movie this Friday. So we’ll see what happens. At the very least, it’ll provide some closure.
Back to Running!
My knee finally healed about two weeks ago. By “healed”, I mean that it no longer hurt to bend it. I was really missing being able to run because it really picks me up at the end of the day and I feel like I’ve accomplished something.
For my birthday, my grandparents gave me money for new running shoes and since I’ve had them, they’ve made a world of difference. The extra support means that my ankles and knees don’t pinch every time I take a step and as long as I make sure to tape the knee up before I leave the house, I can go quite the distance.
The three-four week gap in my running schedule really screwed with my stamina, but it’s nice that I’ve started building it up again.
So that’s about it. I’ll post more about work later, as I have a couple of funny stories. This place is an HR matron’s worst nightmare. And it’s awesome.