Crowne Plaza Hotel Washington-Nat'l Arpt, Va Arlington

... for hours in a cardboard box than a job with a cubicle is for you, otherwise you will probably not be happy there. I laughed, very hard. If you are every in DC I recomend you all go to this guy's mass he is great. On to more exciting things, in the last couple weeks what have I been up to???? I started babysitting for a couple different families which is great. I have money flowing in, get to hang out with kids, eat other people's food, and other great things :) I also helped ...

... right next to one another, so we had to walk a mile or so to get there which was more than I really cared to since I was already sore and trying to save myself for the race. We then headed to the prep, pee, and stretch area. Now I knew this was a big race, but they weren't messing around. I've never see that many porto-potties at any event much less a race. The pictures don't do it justice since I didn't have a wide angle lense but you'll see in the background they seem to go ...

... today to see some sites in DC. First stop was a visit to Dubya's gaff. Walking around the centre of DC is weird because it is so quiet...************e around. It seems at weekends all the people working there go out of town leaving the centre desolute (good for my sight-seeing anyway). The White House was pretty impressive but smaller than I expected. Had a brief chat and took a photo of a guy who has been protesting against War for the last few decades ...

... new Samsonite. Flaming orange Samsonite. Pumpkin orange. I was horrified, and it must have shown. I tried to be appreciative, but orange? "So that it doesn't get mixed up with others," she helpfully explained. Well, that would certainly be true. Nobody would claim/steal/mistake those gawd-awful bags. But I was 18 and self-respecting, and practicality was definitely not one of my concerns. Eventually, my mother graciously swapped me her older ...

... going back to the condo and we could simply wait there in the outdoor lobby and play on the computer (go figure - in the outdoor lobby? THAT's where the wireless internet connection is!) until our unit was ready. At this point, my knee was starting to stiffen up and hurt from the trauma of the actual blow to the tissue of all my weight landing on it (not THAT much weight, but 100 pounds on one knee against jagged rock is a significant "ouch" factor ...

It snowed last night and was so cold today that the snow did not at all until the afternoon. Very unusual for DC: all the schools were closed and half the NSF officers didn't show up because of the weather ... and all the Bostonians here think the DC people are wimps ...

Thanksgiving is over. And now I'm waiting again. I didn't think much of leaving Martinsville. I mostly felt over packed for a weekend. My sister and I warmed up and went for a run Thursday morning. I ate turkey and rolls and pie and cranberries, et cetera and played charades with my much-extended family. But then my parents and sister went home. And I started getting nervous. And ready to go. I even told another ...

... interesting, but again, TONS of stuff, almost too much for us to see in one afternoon.
For dinner Pat and Christina made some veggie kebabs and homemade crab cakes. God, it was good! Jenny and I were saying that after being treated to so much homemade food while we were staying with them, it was going to be hard to go back to our 'camping food'!! After dinner we busted out the board games and had a vicious boys vs. girls game of Cranium. Needless to say, the girls kicked some ...

... attitude of the west. For example, whenever somebody had food, they would offer it to be shared to those around them, regardless of their financial situation or whether they knew the individual or not. When Nicole and I would be looking at a map to find our way, more often than not, somebody would stop on the street, ask us where we wanted to go, and personally walk us there themselves. I have never met kinder people in all of ...

... about Spanish music that night. French people hating me was a sacrifice I was willing to make. When my friends left I did not cry. I knew I would see them soon enough, and the next time would be even more of an adventure. Their departure left the promise of an exciting trip in the near future that would be full of surprises and unequaled amazement... on my part anyway. I started counting down the days as soon as they got on the plane.