A lesson on tardiness

I have never been a timely person. Generally I am running about 5 minutes late, no matter what. When I moved to D.C. I vowed I would be better, and for the first week I did awesome. Soon enough though my old habits started up again and the arguments between getting up or sleeping in were being won by my bed. Last Friday however, it was necessary for me to arrive at the steps of the Supreme Court at exactly 10am. I was going to have the privilege of meeting the first woman on the Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O' Conner. A once in a lifetime opportunity, laid at my feet, and all I had to do was show up. 

Enter ::Murphy's Law::

Once leaving my apartment, my morning took on '24' like suspense and I was Jack Bauer,"I must get to the Justice!" 

9:15 Leave my apartment

9:26 Board Red Line Metro

9:45 Exit Union Station 

9:46 Walk up the wrong road

9:50 Find the correct road, head towards Supreme Court

9:55;30 Wait for cross-walk sign

9:56:30 Cross street, pause in front of the steps to change my shoes

9:57 Enter Supreme Court Building

9:57:15 Get stopped by security and wanded because my belt sets off the metal detector

9:58 Go through the first entrance, find security guard, tell him where I need to go

9:59 Go up stair case, find another security guard start jogging behind him as he quickly heads toward a gate. 

10:00:15 Watch Sandra Day O'Conner walk down a hallway into the East Conference Room and the door shut behind her, all while standing behind a locked gate. 

10:00:20  Fight back tears as the security guard tells me he cannot take me into the room once the Justice has entered, and that I will have to wait until she finishes speaking before I am allowed to go in. 

10:00:30 Game Over. 

So that's it kids. I had the chance to sit in a room with no more than 30 people while listening to Sandra Day O'Conner speak and I missed it. If one thing had been different, if I had left my apartment one minute earlier, or I had decided I didn't need to switch from flats to heels, or I had a better sense of direction in this stupid town, one thing and I would be writing a very different blog post. But alas, my life never seems to be the story, but the lesson learned. 

In this town, you can never take a moment for granted. Never hesitate or second guess because the moment you do a large gold gate is shut on your face (literally), and you're left talking to a security guard about why he doesn't like the Beavers after they beat Maryland in the Emerald Bowl a few years back. 

I came out here to pursue my career, and hopefully get lucky enough to meet some of the most influential people in the nation. What I've learned, is that in order to make that happen 15 seconds means everything. 

( After her talk I was let in long enough to snag a pic. A few other interns, Sandra Day O'Conner, and me)

Today, just this.

Something Isa Garcia wrote for a friend going through a hard time.

More than fine.

Thanks Andrea for the link. :)

Happy Hour is the name of the game

The best thing about living in any city is the access to so many different restaurants, shops, and bars. It is never dull, and a new adventure can literally be right around the corner. Unfortunately on an intern budget, city prices can be a bit outlandish. For this reason, and this alone, I think happy hour was invented.

The concept is genius. Take regular menu items that people know and love, and make them cheaper! Then designate time right after work, when everyone is in need of a pick-me-up and bam! you have just created the best idea... on Earth.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been able to scope out some great spots around the district, and I already have a few favorites. Meeting new friends is definitely easier over a $4 drink and a delicious hummus plate!

First up:

The Mad Hatter

This place was great! The moment we walked in the bar area was packed with young people. After snagging a table outside on the patio we were able to enjoy delicious bruschetta, and pizza for $5 each. The drinks weren't great, we had frozen mango margaritas that were small for the price and melted really quickly. The food made up where the drinks dropped the ball however, and over all I would definitely go back! 

Beacon Bar

I really liked Beacon. It's about two blocks down from my office, and their specials were pretty good. They have a great sky bar which gives a view of the whole city, but the drinks are twice as much upstairs as they are downstairs. Once we headed back down, we had two hummus plates, and they were delicious! The drinks were priced well, and the different flavors of Sky cocktails (I had blood orange and passion fruit) were fun to try. 

Pizza Paradiso

This place has by far been my favorite. Once inside the restaurant it is divided into a seating area and the bar. The rule is that happy hour specials are only available at the bar, and let me tell you, it was packed! We had a group of 6 and there was no way we were going to be able to wedge ourselves in, so we awkwardly stood in the way of the staff while we tried to figure out somewhere else to go. Graciously the staff offered to seat us and told us we could still receive happy hour deals. This made us very happy, and we showed our appreciation.

The pizza here is amazing! The crust is a little different, but they have amazing toppings and the cheese is scrumptious. The best part was that they were only $10 for a large, when normally they can be between $14-$18. 

One of my qualms with D.C. is that after living in Oregon with it's many many micro breweries, I can't seem to find decent beer on tap. That's why I was so excited when I found Rogue listed among their IPA's. Normally I'm not a big IPA fan, but I was so excited about Oregon beer, that I had to do it, and it was actually pretty good. 

These are just a few of the places I've been able to visit thus far, but these have been some of my favorites. I have always been a city girl, and I am loving being able to explore with new friends and find new places to go! 

4th of July!

July 4th is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I love all of the American pride, the BBQ's, the fireworks, and the fact that it's smack dab in the middle of summer. This year I was extra excited, because I figured D.C. would be on American pride overload, and that's exactly what I got!

We started the day at the Washington Nationals baseball game. I don't know how many of you have been keeping up with your weather reports, but in case you didn't know the east coast is having some crazy stuff happen... like this heat wave. Normally I would not condone sitting in the direct sun on a 95+ degree day for several hours to watch baseball, but in the spirit of the 4th we sucked it up and did it for America!

(walking into the park)

(Lillian and I sweating out the beer we were drinking)

(Nationals vs. Giants) 

After the game I went home to take my second shower of the day (seriously, the humidity here is awful) and change. Then I met up with another intern from our office and we grabbed a drink before meeting up with Lillian at a friends BBQ. The food was delicious and we got to see a new neighborhood in D.C! 

Finally we headed to the National Mall, so we could view the fireworks that go off above the Washington Monument. We knew it would be packed and were nervous that it would take us hours to get home, so instead of going all the way into the Mall, we decided to park in front of a museum on 7th and Constitution. Close enough so we could see, without having to be right in the crowds of people. 

(fireworks and the monument)

All in all it was a great, fun, sweaty day! I'm continuing to get to know the city, and glad I get to be a part of celebrations like this. Happy Summer!