Dear DC,
We have been keeping so busy we haven't had time to update our blog at all. And since we haven't updated our blog, we haven't posted pictures of our awesome new condo! So our famine is over. Hope you love the pictures as much as we love our place.
With Homeowning Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
Have you ever felt like getting good news is a disappointment? For example, when you pay a bunch of money to have a mechanic look over your car only to have them tell you that nothing is wrong with it. Instead of thinking, "That's great news. I am happy," I end up thinking, "Well what did I go and spend my time and money for, only to find out nothing is wrong? What a waste!"
Backwards, yes. But it happens all the time even with doctor's appointments (spend over $500 out of pocket only to have a diagnosis of "take an Advil when it hurts and you should be fine"). Frustrating!
Today I got some good news and had the same reaction. Kyle and I did a "punch list" for our condo of things to have the seller fix. I came armed with an extensive checklist, tape measure, level and pen and paper ready to submit a long laundry list of items. We scoured every nook and even the cranny's in the condo looking for every little flaw we could find.
We found a grand total of three! That should be good, right? It must mean the condo is in good shape. Well instead of feeling that way, I feel a little disappointed, like I didn't do a good enough job of find flaws. If had been truly thorough, shouldn't there be a few more the just three?
Well now I've convinced myself to hire a professional to track down all the imperfections. What a happy thought!
So for now, our condo looks like it's in good shape...I'm just not happy about it! ; )
With "There's a Small Nick in My Baseboard" Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
It is officially official and I am much too excited to be coy or clever about how I write this. If you didn't get it from the title of the post, we bought a condo! The contract was ratified today and we will potentially close in 30 days.
After tons of looking and me quitting the home search at least three times and threatening to quit about three dozen times, we finally have it.
With "WE'RE GOING TO BE HOMEOWNERiS" Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
Do you ever get so bored you just google anything? Anything including yourself? Well they call it a vanity search and guilty as charged. I'm occasionally curious what pops up that actually applies to me. Fortunately there aren't that many "Julia Skelton"s (except for a super cool semi-pro surfer) but there are quite a few "Julia Jarrett"s to sort through. It's still fun to see what's still around from my past.
Here are a few:
BYU Students Place First in National Business Competition
I look so young and skinny (and have a small stain on my shirt...oops)!!
Joy Luck Club Page - English Class 2001-2002 - Julia Skelton
The title says it all. This was early enough in technology that an English teacher thought making a website took a lot of smarts, and I thought that this website design actually looked good.
BYU NewsNet - U of U firearm law ignites gun controversy
My first (and only) article published in the campus newspaper. It was the final project for my newswriting class first semester of Freshman year. I got bonus points for actually getting it published!
ksl.com - Successiteas' series finds success at YWCA
This is an interview I did for the YWCA young leader's board I was on last year. I learned that I need A LOT of work to be half-decent on camera.
So do it. I dare you. Google your own name and see what comes up then post in the comments section.
With "I'm so vain" Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
Sometimes Kyle and I will turn to each other after reminiscing about the early days of our marriage and say, has it really only been four years? Are you sure it hasn't been five? Perhaps that's because in our eagerness to prove to people that we are mature in our relationship, we have rounded up a-bit-too-soon. Like 8 months too soon.
We pretty much started saying that we have been married for four years, oh about three months after our third anniversary. It makes the fourth year seem really really long.
Well on Tuesday it will be officially four years and the two of us agree that it has been the best four, or five years!
Here's to the next four or five and the five or fifty after that!
With "We're still newlyweds" Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
There are a lot of people I admire for a lot of different reasons. There are the people whose hair always looks perfect and who could be wearing the exact same outfit as me and look 10 times more stylish! Then there are those who seem to have a way with people and make and keep friends so easily.
Well, instead of listing all the things I admire in others and thereby point out my flaws and insecurities, I thought that I would quickly turn that frown upside down and list the things I admire in myself.....and then in my better half, the hubster.
I admire that I am:
Dear DC,
Kyle and I have been looking for a house in DC for a little while now. With our relatively low budget and our stubborn unwillingness to commute 50+ miles (quality of life anyone?), even in the housing "crisis" it's slim pickings!
Unless of course, you love the type of house that doesn't have a kitchen, but does have plenty of mold and perhaps has a ceiling caving in. If you like those kind of houses, then DC is your oyster!
Unfortunately, I wouldn't exactly describe myself (or Kyle) as experienced in home repair, or even especially handy. We would really prefer an ugly house that we can just move in and "fix-up" cosmetically as we live there.
As one real estate agent told us, "HAH! Good luck!"
After several weeks of hunting and hunting and hunting, we found our dream home! It didn't have any mold, the floors only sloped a little bit and no one had been murdered in the area for at least 12 months. What a find!
Ok, it was better than it sounds! So we made an offer on the house. It had been sitting on the market for 8 months but just our luck, a competing offer came in on the same day for $5K higher...and we didn't get the house.
We had to move on with minimal tears but shattered hopes...
There was one house we saw on our first day of hunting and kept coming back to it as a place that we could make-do with if we had the misfortune of of not finding anything better.
Well, last week we put in an offer on that house.
Actually I'm pretty thrilled about it and I have already claimed a room that I get to decorate without any input from Kyle...and yes, he gets a similar room. Although the decor in my head changes constantly, mine will be an urban Parisian-themed guest room/my dressing room/hair and make-up room (the bathroom is tiny). Kyle's will be an "office."
We just barely received the counter-offer yesterday so it might be a while before the contract is finalized and even longer before we can close and move in.
So, DON'T hold your breath, but DO cross your fingers!!!
With Home Sweet Home? Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
We're all a little strange, we all have our quirks. I'm a fairly boring person, but even I have some somewhat weird quirks to my name. Such as....
I refuse to drive. Even when I first got my driver's license, I much preferred to have someone else drive. The only time I enjoyed driving was when I bought my first and only car, a VW bug, and that lasted about 6 months. I guess that's why me and DC get along so well....public transportation!!
I wear socks to bed. In fact, you may never see me without socks. It wasn't until grade 12 in high school that I started wearing flip flops because I couldn't stand to not have socks on. And I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that my second toe is longer than my big toe....
While I love to read, I hate buying books. As long as a decent library is within 25 miles of me, buying books seems like a waste. Plus, see the next quirk.
I grew up in the same house 0-18 years old but since leaving I have moved every 6-8 months. I have learned to limit my belongings, including books, but not well enough. Moving cross-country really kicked my butt.
I ALWAYS forget the lyrics to songs and just make random lyrics up, but honestly think I am singing the right ones. Kyle is constantly correcting me, even on the songs that I am a fan of and he doesn't even like.
What are some of your quirks?
With strange-things love,
Julia
Dear DC,
I am home sick today so obviously that means I am catching up on my blog reading!!!
What did I find but that my sister-in-law, Nichole, not only read one of my very old blogs (three years old) but she re-posted it on her blog. I honestly didn't even know that she knew about it so I was pretty surprised as I started to skim her post and recognized the words.
I wrote a blog about a year after my dad passed about the experience. It was partly for a college project and partly therapeutic. The post she re-posted was about my experiences dealing with people's actions and comments toward me and my family after his death.
So - I thought instead of writing something complete new today for this blog, I would share with you some of my older blogs in the case that you might be interested in some of the topics.
Note: I do not intend to put post any more on these old blogs so if you do have a desire to know way too much information about me and actually visit them, once is enough.
This is about my experiences after my father's death.
http://survivingdeath.blogspot.com/
This was a lame attempt at a blog. My attention span is apparently not very long!
http://kyleandjulia.blogspot.com/
AND for a true archaic record - I wrote this the summer before I went to college. I was 17 so don't judge!
http://cranberrie.livejournal.com/
I'm sure I'll enjoy reading these much more than anyone else....so I'm off to self-indulge!
With "was I really that stupid?" love,
Julia
Dear DC,
First of all, spending the Fourth of July in nation's capitol is a true treat. Top things?
Dear DC,
So that $25 Challenge was a huge success...for about four days.
Now we just don't have AS much for savings as we would have liked. HOWEVER I'm absolutely committed to not spending away my paycheck on food, even if it means forgoing delicious sushi on a warm Saturday afternoon. Buh-bye Momoyama. That's a sacrifice!
What was the straw the broke the camel's restricted budget back? Only the most amazing Irish step dance troupe and their famous farewell tour! I grew up watching Riverdance on VHS and always craved to see it in person. When I was 16 I saw the Lord of the Dance show (Satan's impersonation of the truth) so I've always wanted to see the real thing. I thought my chance was gone forever when they came to Salt Lake on their farewell tour and I missed it! So when I saw them playing near DC on Friday I jumped at the chance. And by jumped, I mean spent a lot of money to buy tickets and danced an Irish jig.
Woooo hoooo!
With "I only splurge on AMAZING dance performances" Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
Apparently Kyle isn't writing much anymore, so you're stuck with me again.
In our nearly four years of marriage, Kyle and I have always been pretty good about having a budget...not so much with sticking to it. I have a spreadsheet that I created where I input every purchase under each category and the spreadsheet tells us how much money we have left in that category. The problem is that we often completely ignore that total. Whoops.
The little number sometimes (ok, a lot of times) goes into the red....digging into the money we are supposed to be saving/paying off debt with.
These past two weeks have been pretty typical with, as always, the majority of our "rainy day" funds going toward food and eating out. It's not like we even eat that well, we just eat a lot and often.
As a result of these past two weeks of gluttony, we have challenged ourselves to sticking to a $25 budget for the next two weeks. Not just for food, but $25 FOR EVERYTHING!
Fortunately we have a freezer full of food, a half tank of gas and a fairly funded metro card.
Can we do it?
With Cheapskate Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
My first birthday in the district came off as a big success! I know it was a big day for all of you so now that the excitement is over you can resume breathing normally.
Of course, all the wonderful plans and gifts that my amazing husband gave me were all upstaged by a birthday surprise from mother nature, and I'm not talking about her monthly gift.
We came home from dinner/shopping to our little basement apartment FLOODED!
Happy Birthday! You get to stay up late mopping up disgusting brown water (not sewage - thank goodness) saturating all your towels then throwing them in the dryer only to have to use them to mop up the rest of the water, over and over again. But wait, there's more! You also get the opportunity to move all items that were touching the ground into the "unaffected" part of your small apartment and asses the water damage (relatively limited). But wait, there's more!! Then you get to watch the weather forecast for MORE RAIN and look forward to doing this all over again....or rather watch your husband do it all over again.
Thanks mother nature....you're the best!
With "I like my water in faucets" love,
Julia
P.S. The rest of the day was really lovely and I am enjoying the beautiful flowers my husband sent me at work.
P.P.S. I found out that my husband really does listen to me when I am talking as evidenced by his thoughtful gifts....now he has no excuse for the future. HAH!
Dear DC,
One week from today (or I think it's midnight now, so one week from yesterday) is the blessed day of my birth. I will be turning the big 2-4 on June 3rd!
I feel OLD. Seriously, I am watching the wrinkles deepen on my forehead and it's driving me nuts - I am not kidding, they are there. Even Kyle admits that they are there and he's usually too nice and loving to agree with me.
So as I look back on my long and sage life, I can't help but reminisce about my all-time favorite birthdays - or at least the ones I can remember in my old age.
5 years old - Princess and Prince Birthday. My mom made the princess hats as long cones with fabric hanging off the ends for the girls and crowns for the boys. She also made the most amazing pink ice cream cake in the shape of a castle. It's really quite easy if you buy the blocks of ice cream. You put three blocks vertical and top them with waffle cones and then use graham crackers to make the drawbridge. I still remember how excited I was to see it.
8 years old - I took a bunch of friends and went out to the Remington Carriage House Museum in Cardston, AB. We even got to ride in a horse-drawn carriage. Why I was so interested in carriages as an eight-year-old? Who knows - I've always been a huge nerd. I'm surprised I haven't yet had a Star Trek or Chess themed birthday. Heck, even a spelling bee birthday wouldn't be out of my nerd zone. We also ate at the '50's diner in Cardston called Pizza's 'n Cream. Oh, and I got baptized into my church...that was pretty cool.
16 years old - My friends came over to my house and filled up my entire room with balloons. When I opened my door they just came flooding out!! It apparently took them hours to do it. Not only was this one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for me, it was also a complete and total surprise. I think it's the only time I have been truly surprised! My mom also had a surprise party planned for that year me but she spilled the beans when I got mad at her because I didn't think she had planned anything. Teenagers are so awful sometimes.
23 years old - Kyle sent me flowers at work...so sweet! We also had a family dinner at Kyle's mom's house in Utah. Sometimes the simplest birthdays are the best.
So here's to another year and another birthday and another wrinkle.
With "One year older and wiser too" Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
Watching TV last night, I was inspired to tackle my next project. Fox had a show on called Glee about a high school glee club (show choir). It was so infective I couldn't stop singing and dancing all night. I took a shower just to have an excuse (like I need one) to sing rock songs in a Broadway style at the top of my lungs. It was so fun I think I'll do it again today....
In spite of being disappointed that I will have to wait until fall to see the next episode of my soon to be favorite teen show, I caught the musical bug, fortunately not of the swine flu variety.
I became inspired to write a musical myself....U2: The Musical. Ok, so I'm still working out the title. And if any of you are even considering stealing this idea, I am 100% sure that it's not an original idea, it is based on the Mamma Mia! formula, and some guy already has u2musical.com secured. Bummer.
None of this will stop me from achieving Broadway producer/writer/star greatness. Rather, co-writer...I think Kyle will get in on this too as he is the resident U2 expert.
I have several story lines swirling in my head accompanied by possible songs such as the love torn duet "One", the stop-everything-and-dance-in-the-streets anthem "Get on Your Boots", and the everything-is-resolved number "Beautiful Day." Just imagine what wonderful Broadway productions these songs will make when matched with the essential overacting and cheesy choreography.
All I need now sign off from Bono and The Edge. Maybe I can get that through Oprah....or Obama!
With "I have copyright issues" Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
Well, as my great partner in crime announced, I am gainfully employed! Oh oh oh it’s magic! After so long, and so many resumes, and so much waiting it has finally happened. I can finally sit back at night and enjoy watching TV without stressing out a little during commercial breaks.
Some people get stuck in a rut. I suppose you could say that is what I’ve experienced. Last year I got a job, then not. Got a job again….then not. For a long time, it just seemed like I was stuck in a moment. Well, now I am happy. Extremely happy and couldn’t ask for anything more. (Unless someone wants to buy me an xbox360) I can start living life and enjoying it. Of course getting a job doesn’t mean that all the other stresses in life will just go away. But with the unemployed stress out of the way, I say, bring it on.
I suppose from all of this I have learned a great deal of patience. Patience is the key. Oh, and when you sit on a couch for a few months, make sure you rotate the couch cushions.
It feels good. I wouldn’t mind being stuck in this moment for a long time.
With, where’s my paycheck, love
Kyle
Dear DC,
Do we have reason to celebrate!!! Let me count the ways:
Dear DC,
So, it was nice to have spring time….you know for that whole week and a half that it was around. Thanks for ditching out on us spring and allowing summer to just jump right on in at full force. What’s with the 90 degree days all of a sudden? Shouldn’t we at least have some time to enjoy some temperatures in the 70s?
Well with the very nice, but very hot weather it does make me feel quite good. And that’s a big thing for me to say considering I hate any temperature over 60 degrees. But there is something great about being able to drive my insanely dirty car down the street with the windows down, blasting music and bobbing my head to the beat. With the great weather, and this great place to live I have also discovered a new and fantastic summer time activity-bike riding!
This past Saturday we went to this great spot in Georgetown by the river and rented bikes. We took this paved trail along the river and through the woods, not to grandma’s house though. The scenery was beautiful, the wind was cool, and if you kept your mouth open you got your protein intake for the day. It was so much fun, and a great 10 mile workout - not bad for someone who hasn’t been on a bike in over 5 years. Now I am all pumped up to buy a bike and become an avid bike rider. We’ll see how that goes along with my other aspirations I’ve had over the years such as: pro tennis player, world champion of Halo, and avid bottle cap collector.
Ok, I may not have mastered those other things, but bike riding was too fun to give up on too easily.
With Pedal Pumping Love,
Kyle
Dear DC,
Just a note that for a short while the comment feature on this blog was broken. It is now fixed. So comment away. Comment on how you love/hate/laugh/cry/are indifferent to what we write.
Heck...comment on this comment. Commenty com comment!
With Comment Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
Sometimes the weather is so beautiful outside and I have the music cranked up on my iPod that I seriously have to restrain myself from dancing down the streets on my way to the bus stop in the morning. The thing that seems to bring me back is the thought of looking crazier than the homeless guy with the shopping cart full of plastic bags who likes to sleep in a doorway by the bus stop. I might be crazier than him, but I certainly don't want to appear that way.
I'm not much of a dancer (despite years of lessons and wishful thinking) but once that music gets pumping and the sun comes out I am a championship dancer choreographing stage shows in my head...costumes and all. Outkast or Black Eyed Peas comes on and suddenly I become a hip hop extraordinaire, popping and sashaying all over the sidewalk...in my head. Malaguena comes on and amazingly I transform into a passion-filled latin dancer clapping castenettes as my hips shake to the beat...in my daydreams. U2 comes on and....well I skip U2 because as awesome as they are, can you really do anything but jump up and down and marvel?
Point is, even though I don't dance anymore and I'm pretty crummy at it anyways, a girl can daydream, right? I love having some time to just lose myself in the music and let my mind wander through the rhythms and melodies. It only gets worse in the summer when I have "So You Think You Can Dance" to inspire the dancer/choreographer/costume designer who lives only in my mind.
Maybe someday the expert that I am in my dreams will actually translate through my body...I just have to give it a shot, right?
With Dance-dreaming Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
I have found that I really enjoy walking to and from work each day. The short 20 minute walk from home to office really seems to give a boost to my energy level. I don’t have to sit at traffic lights and worry about homeless people trying to sit in my car, or worry about the taxi driver’s lack of driving skills. Instead I get to breathe some fresh air, enjoy all the blossoming trees, and get a little extremely much needed exercise.
I have gotten myself in a routine by walking to work. I try to leave the apartment right at 8:30am, which will get me to work by 8:50am. I walk along Maryland Ave, through the same park on my way to work. With this routine I have found that I am not the only one who has a routine at 8:30am.
Every day I pass the same mother with her 4 children waiting at the bus stop for the X8. The mother, who I like to call the “Nobody Taught Me About Carbs Mother” eating a chicken wing (at 8:37 in the morning), the children eating oversized M&M cookies.
Then there are the two girls who walk onto Maryland Ave from E St. The Bobbsey Twins. One girl is always smoking a cigarette and holding a green plastic cup. Each time I see her I imagine how gross whatever it is that she is drinking tastes right after she takes a puff of the cigarette. I then begin to walk faster than them in order to get ahead of the smell of cigarette smoke.
Once I reach Stanton Square, there is always that same guy, Flood Boy, who is wearing tennis shoes with his suit. The gap between his shoes and suit pants is at least 10 inches, and for some reason he is always carrying an umbrella. Rain or shine. It’s not open, just there.
In the middle of Stanton Square is usually when the Two Bag Girl arrives. I suppose a more fitting name for her would be the Chicken Dance Girl. Because she is walking along with her purse on one shoulder and her gym bag on the other and her hands on the strap of each bag, it causes her arms to flap out with each step that she takes. Luckily I have my ipod with me so I don’t get the chicken dance song stuck in my head.
Then we get to the ultimate routine. Every day, as long as I keep my pace up, in the 400 block of Maryland Ave, I will nearly walk right into the Rav4 Guy. The Rav4 Guy is the guy who comes charging out of his house, opening his squeaky iron gate, and into his silver Toyota Rav4. Before walking through his gate however, he stops to look both ways down the sidewalk as if to be checking to make sure he won’t run into a Segway tour group.
Sometimes I feel like the part of Groundhog Day. The part where Bill Murray is sitting on a park bench counting down each thing that happens because he has lived the same day over and over. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…dog barks, blue truck honks, child cries, Flood Boy walks by.
With Walking Along Love,
Kyle
Dear DC,
I have never felt scared, threatened or unsafe while living here. HOWEVER, an incident this morning has changed that.
About 8:45 this morning about one and a half blocks from our place (in the wrong direction) a woman was shot and killed. This is right across the street from Kyle and my favorite fast food place which we frequent often. This is OUR neighborhood.
And here's the kicker; the shooter is still on the loose. That and the woman had four children who are now without a mother.
We were driving out of town about 10am this morning to visit Annapolis on our day off and the whole street just one block aware from us was shut down and roped off with yellow police tape. We knew something was seriously wrong....
So should I be getting mace? A gun? Probably not, usually the people involved in this type of violence are not innocent bystanders. Don't worry mom! (I think she'll probably still worry.)
With Concerned Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
One of the things I enjoyed the most about my last apartment in Salt Lake was the 1 block walk to the downtown Salt Lake City library, voted best library in the country in 2006. It was a beautiful facility, had an amazing catalog, was extraordinarily hi-tech and was a place that people loved to spend time in comfy arm chairs. Basically it was the biggest, best Barnes & Noble you could imagine but with so so much more.
Now coming from that, I very nearly cried after my first DC library experience. I drove up to the "community branch" which was little more than a glorified hot dog stand (seriously smaller than my apartment). I didn't even go in and ran, not walked, to the "neighborhood branch". This was an older brick building with two floors, much better than the last place, but upon looking around, I realized that the literature section was two bookshelves with maybe about 50 books. Checking out books involved a stamp and card that gets removed from the back of the book.
Ok, so that was just small branch. The main library must be an amazing place housed in a historic building blocks from the White House. This is DC after all, our nation's capitol. Well I was right about one thing.....this is DC. And all the good-library-karma must be used up by the Library of Congress.
Alas, the main branch was the event that inspired my despair and near-tears. Literature was no longer two bookshelves but now a whole room filled with dirty bums looking at porn on the free computers....oh and there were a few books too.
The computerized catalog was down for maintenance but fortunately I came with a list. Unfortunately the entire sections of authors with last names starting with "E" and "N" were mysteriously missing. I resolved there and then that I would abandon actually going to library and just browse the catalog online and request my materials to be placed on hold.
I am seriously heartbroken about my loss of a quality library. Don't fear goodreads.com buddies....I will continue to read and post my progress, it's just that finding my next literary adventure won't be quite as enjoyable.
With Library-withdrawal Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
Dear DC,
Well, my days of nothingness are over. Finally after weeks and weeks and a few more weeks someone has looked at my resume long enough to realize that I am good enough to work for free. This past week I got an internship! This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I am way glad that something finally has happened on the career side of life. I will be working with the direct marketing team at a campaign committee, doing what exactly....I'm not sure. But at least its with something that is connected with basically everything that goes on everywhere in this town. So hopefully this internship will open a lot of doors for me in the next few months.
Although I have this great opportunity, there will be some things to get used to. For example, waking up in the morning. Wow, that is tough! I've traded my spot on the couch for a not all that comfortable office chair. Oh, and not taking a nap at 11am...or 3pm..wow I miss those. Oh, and now me and the xbox or just mere aquaintances rather than best buddies...
With working my way to the top love,
Kyle
Dear DC,
You delivered my husband a great internship (details of which I will reserve for his next blog post....) but in the process you took away the most fantastic house husband.
If I ever have to measure up to how amazing of a housekeeper my husband is, I am in big trouble. Not only did he keep our apartment immaculately clean, he also had a delicious dinner ready for me when I got home. He drove me to work in the morning so I could sleep in and picked me up if I worked late. I knew that he did a lot for me and I appreciated it.
How much he really did hadn't sunk in until his first day at work. I was shocked to come home and find my mess exactly where I left it. My laundry was still dirty and my dishes were not put away. You mean that stuff doesn't just happen? I had gotten so used to my husband's tidy habits.
All of you house husbands and wives are jeering right now, thinking of how much of the work you do each day goes unnoticed.
Well I notice! Because now I'm going to have to do so much more of it than this spoiled girl has had to do in the past three months.
With I'm-scrubbing-the-toilet Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
Upon moving here I made a pact with myself that I would enjoy the cultural opportunities in DC to the fullest. So, at least once a week Kyle and I venture out of our cozy little apartment and find something interesting to do/attend/visit. I'm happy to report that there has only been one week we haven't met this goal.
However, we refuse to be tourists!
We pretend to be annoyed with all the little tourists and never take a camera with us in fear that we might be seen as one. When we are out we loudly talk about how much we love LIVING in DC and what we will do tonight when we are at HOME. We can't be seen dallying in the museum bookstores too long for that is so not DC-ish.
In case you are interested, here's a few places we've been so far.
1. National Portrait Museum - This was by far one of the coolest museums in DC. In addition to the traditional portraits of famous American figures, it had a photography portrait exhibit with some amazing contemporary portrait photographers. Some of the photo series' were so touching I almost started to cry.
2. Ben's Chili Bowl - This is a famous long-standing chili-dog place on U Street. It has been open since the 50's. We regrettably swallowed our pride and stood in the long line outside the door, just like any tourist. Happily someone in line turned to me and asked if the line was always this long (acknowledging me as a local) so I felt better. In case you are wondering, the chili wasn't thae good.
3. Politics and Prose - Probably the most "local-esque" thing we have done. There is a bookstore in the NW of DC up by American University that specializes in political books. It has all other types of books too, but an enormous selection of political books. We went one Saturday to a book signing/discussion by Chuck Todd, Washington bureau chief for NBC News. His book was about the 2008 presidential election. We underestimated how far in advance we needed to show up and ended up in the crowded back of the store watching the event on closed-circuit TV. Not quite the same. We ended up leaving early.....but it was so local!
4. National Gallery of Art - The best part about living in DC is that we can go to a museum and just go to a few exhibits, knowing that because we live here we can come back anytime! The Gallery of Art had an exhibit of my favorite photographer, Robert Frank. It is some anniversary of his famous photo book called Americans. This exhibit showed all of the photos in that book plus background documents. It was so inspiring. We went back the next day to see an exhibit of Ansel Adams which was extraordinarily disappointing as it was only four of his photos and not particularly good ones! Can't win them all, but we'll be here to see them all.....as a local!!!
As we visit more, we'll post more.
With "I'm NOT a tourist" Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
There is a lot of gloom and doom about the economy and circumstances surrounding the economy. Being unemployed in this economy certainly can make one feel a bit discouraged, but in order to overcome this discouragement I am trying to look on the bright side of things.
Here’s what is good about being unemployed….
I only go to bed because I have nothing better to do.
When the alarm clock goes off in the morning, I can smile knowing that it’s not for me.
I get to watch the Price is Right and dream of a day when I might hear “Kyle, come on down, you’re the next contestant on the Price is Right!’
I get to take a nap at 10am, 1:20pm, and 4:45pm.
The Xbox and me get more quality time together.
I get to cook a great meal for Julia when she gets home from work.
I don’t hate my job, because I don’t have one.
So, things could be worse. It’s good to look for the good that is good out there. But lets be honest, I really want a job. So DC, if you could throw me a freaking bone here and drop your unemployment rates a little, that would be great.
With, trying to be patient, love,
Kyle
Dear DC,
I always thought that I was a hard worker. I would go the extra mile on my first grade book reports and design a fancy title page or study the four times tables when everyone else was still working on the two times tables. I just liked to work. Even in college and then in the workplace I liked to work and put in the time to have a good product.
But I am being schooled.
I am trying to figure out how to talk about an average of 10 hour days combined with 13 and 15 hour days on occasion and this happening in my fifth week of work without sounding like a huge complainer. I couldn't figure it out how to do that effectively so I won't write about that. Nope, nothing about that at all!
I'm still enjoying the work, I just expected to have a life outside of work.....silly me.
And for the record, I can't help but lunge for my blackberry every time it buzzes but it's not because I want to be so connected. It's because I'm so worried about what's wrong with the project I am working on now. It's not called crackberry without cause.
With work-a-holic love,
Julia
Dear DC,
I should really learn to trust my instincts.
For example, yesterday I set out to Home Depot to buy blinds for the back door, and a basket hanging thing for the bathroom. As I was gathering my keys and other items, I thought to myself that I would look at the size on the last box of blinds I bought for the front door, thinking that I would need the same size for the back. Of course the thought also came to me to break out the measuring tape and make sure the back door is the same size. Of course...I ignored that thought and bounded out the door.
Going to Home Depot is a bit of a struggle. The road that leads into the depot is curvy and always full of traffic, making it a bit annoying. Add to that, that it's Home Depot I'm going to and so there are a few certain people standing in various parts of the parking lot waving at you to hire them for the day. And by a few people, what I mean is you kind of feel like you are the grand marshal of parade with all the people standing on the sides of the street waving at you. This is also annoying because some of them feel its okay to take their sweet time walking across the parking lot right in front of you.
Anyways, back to the original point. I buy my blinds, and basket thing for the bathroom, weave my way through the parking lot and waving fans, and arrive home only to find that: 1, the blinds were too big for the back door, and 2, the basket for the bathroom is far too big to hang on the wall. Great....why didn't I measure it before! So it was back to the car, on the road, up the windy street with the waving fans wanting work, and to the return counter. Blast! But in the end, I got the right size of blinds and a smaller basket. So all is good.
Of course my lack of instinct trusting didn't end there. This morning I drove Julia to work. On my way home after dropping her off, I should have trusted my instincts to lock the car doors while I was driving. At the corner of New York Ave and H St, a man approached the car. One might think he was homeless, or just allergic to clean clothes. He tapped on the passenger window, saying "come on man, let me in." Of course my cat like reflexes went for the door lock before he could try the handle, which he did. Again he asked me to let him in, but luckily the light had turned green and I was speeding away. Maybe he just wanted to clean my windshield for some cash....from the inside...
With instinctive love,
Kyle
Dear DC,
Riding the bus in DC is a unique opportunity to experience the local habitat. Let me quote a guy Kyle heard singing on the bus the last (and only) time he rode:
Riding on the bus,
Sitting next to bums
Hope that isn't pee
On the seat that's next to me
I think that about sums up bus riding in the Washington Metro area, both the lyrics and the fact the some guy is randomly singing out loud on the bus (not begging for money).
But to drive my point home, I wish to relate the experience I had today on my way home from work. I take the bus to and from work every day. It's quite quick, inexpensive and best of all under ideal conditions I get to read my book and sit down.
Today I was able to sit down as I pick up the bus at the beginning of the line but the bus line is so popular that it quickly fills up. Today was no exception and passenger after passenger kept pouring onto the bus. This usually wouldn't cause me strife as I already had my seat but it was the type of people that were coming on that made my ride one for the blog!
A group of three young flamboyant and most importantly very loud and obnoxious boys decided that "inside voices" didn't apply on the bus and that everyone wanted to hear their conversation about how crowded the bus was. The bus driver continually asked them to move back so more passengers could get on the bus to which they replied (almost in unison), "Nuh uh cutie, there is no more room."
I didn't bat an eye and kept my nose in my book.
As people got off the bus and more people moved back to where I was standing, I found myself surrounded by these boys, squawking right into my ear.
I didn't bat an eye and kept my nose in my book.
Then another woman complained loudly and rather profanely about how crowded the bus is. There were no people right around her and with good reason. She was obviously very intoxicated (especially for 5:30pm) and smelled like she had been intoxicated for quite sometime, had thrown up on herself three days ago and hasn't showered since. Seriously....it was a breathe through the mouth moment (if you even dared that)!
Well another passenger, whom I am sure fancies herself a hero and defender of all things good, pipes up and tells drunk woman to watch her language on the bus and to have some respect for people around her. I silently cheered her until she continued.
Hero woman started off on drunk woman and commented on how drunk the drunk woman was. She said that her state was despicable.
Well this understandably angered drunk woman who told hero woman that she should mind her own business and that she wasn't talking to her anyways.
I kept my eyes firmly fixed on the back of the seat in front of me.
Well of course the obnoxious boys are monitoring this situation with what seemed to them to be an appropriate amount of commentary such as, "You tell her girl" and "Boy is she a mess!" accompanied by cackling and laughing.
Hero woman goes on to insult drunk woman as a parent and bemoans for her children. Drunk woman then retorts that she will kick hero woman's ass (which elicits the expected 'OooooHHHHH, kick her ass" from the obnoxious boys).
Keep in mind that this is happening in a small crowded bus less than half a foot away from my head.
I kept my eyes firmly fixed on the back of the seat in front of me.
Exchanges go back and forth about whose husband is stronger (remind you of recess?) as well as speculations from the obnoxious guys on who would win in a fight.
At this point I am a couple stops away from my house and I have had enough. I yank on the cord to request the next stop, grab my bag and head for the back door as fast as I can.
I don't care that I have to walk a few extra blocks.....I didn't want to get in the middle of that!
I'm sure that won't be the only experience I will have. Just wait until it's the end of the day on a hot summer evening on an equally crowded bus with people already pre-disposed to smelling rank. Take a deep breath in.....and out.......
With Bus Love,
Julia
This week I became an official DC-ite and was given my company-issued BlackBerry. Wahoo! Hooray!
However, I pledge to everyone (ok, the one person) who reads this blog that I will not get addicted to the CrackBerry. I will not. I'm just not that type of person.
Can you picture me typing with my thumbs on that tiny keyboard? Typing accurately on that thing is a nightmare and I'm much too much of a perfectionist and have too little patience for it!
Ok, so yes it is cool that I can check my work and personal email wherever I am. However, I don't know if you know this - but I'm just not cool or important enough to get an email that is so urgent it can't wait until I get home or until I get to work. If there is something, they can call my cell phone. I just don't see the need for yet another device that I have to keep track of.
Don't get me wrong. I am not going to toss it back to the office manager like a hot potato. I'll keep it. It's a rite of passage. I'm just not going to use it....much....outside of work hours....but maybe a little on weekends.....and on the bus ride home.....
I WILL NOT GET ADDICTED!
With BB love,
Julia
Dear DC,
You may not know this, but there are some significant differences between DC and Utah. Some obvious and some not-so-much.
1. There is a church on every other corner, but it's not a LDS church! Churches are everywhere and of every denomination! Some of the most "original" that I have seen include (forgive me if I offend anyone...I am not poking fun at these churches, just pointing out how different these churches are from the one(s) in Utah):
Dear DC,
Let me share with you something that has been in my head since half of the city streets were lined with port-a-potties. One company in particular had a great tag line. "#1 in the #2 business". Classic.
So, I have discovered something incredible today. Or, at least I have rediscovered something today. Peanut butter and celery. Who Knew?! This stuff is amazing! There I was, being the unrecognized, undiscovered profession chef that I am, cutting up celery for my world famous chicken chowder. Feeling very snackish and knowing that Julia wasn't yet to be due home. I thought to myself, "self, what do you have to snack on." Myself came back with the idea of celery and the fresh jar of peanut butter. "But no," I thought to myself. "I hate that stuff. That's what mom would put in my lunch bag back in elementary school when there wasn't any real snacks in the house." But, I got up the courage, and put a large smear of peanut butter on my celery, hoping that with enough peanut butter the true taste of celery would be hidden from my nervous taste buds.
Oh...my...gosh. This...is...fantastic! Where have you been all my life? I chomped that first piece down, and before I had the last bite swallowed, I was already cutting off the next piece and lathering it up with creamy peanut butter. The taste was insatiable. Time and space were lost to me. As I came out of my dazed and confused state, I realized that I had eaten 3 full stocks of celery, and half the jar of peanut butter, and had a wonderful peanut butter mustache.
I dont know what was awakened in me, or what about that taste that would have made me stick out my tongue as a child. But I am hooked now.
Thanks DC.
With creamy crunchy love
Kyle
Dear DC,
I can't say that this city has been kind to us in terms of bringing our car. It's like our car is a foreign body in the city's immune system and it is trying to reject our car...there have been many obstacles. The least of our problems has not been parking the dang thing.
Let's clear this up right up front....I have the utmost respect for parking authority officers. They have a crappy job that make them the most hated people in the city (well in DC that would be the politicians, so...2nd most hated). I sure would respect them a whole lot more if they LEFT ME THE HELL ALONE! Ok, I've recomposed myself and can now continue.
First, all of the parking here is parallel parking. Seeing as I don't drive the car when I'm in it anyways (everyone who knows me knows that I HATE driving and make Kyle do it all the time, but that's another story) this shouldn't bother me that much. It doesn't bother me until I start looking around at everyone else's dings and scrapes on their nice cars and realize that we aren't the only ones who totally suck at parking parallel. That's probably the scariest part...worrying about everyone else trying to fit in that too small spot right in front of our car.
So when we came home last Sunday and found an open parking spot on our street with plenty of room on both sides we snatched it right away.
We had parked unbeknown to us in a handicapped parking spot. Yes, even with parallel parking there are still handicapped "stalls". This one happened to be randomly placed right in the middle of the street and it also happened to cost us $250. Extortion is my cry!
Of course the very next day we also got a $30 parking ticket for parking longer than 2 hours without a permit because we couldn't find big enough scissors to cut through the enormous amount of red tape it takes to get anything done in this inefficient ineffective government that is DC to actually register our car in a timely manner. Figures.
So far our $250 ticket hasn't shown up in the payment system because it was a handwritten ticket. I am just crossing my fingers that it never shows up! It is doesn't, then thank you inefficient ineffective government that is DC! God bless.
With love,
Julia
Dear DC,
Ok, it's official and everyone can celebrate! I HAVE A JOB! And it's a good job too! No longer will I stay up to 2 and sleep in till 10. No longer will I spend an entire day without leaving the home. No longer will.....well you get the idea and I've embarrassed myself enough.
My new water cooler will be located at a lobbying firm. I will be an associate there for two different issue areas, health and tax. An associate is basically the bottom of the totem pole in terms of lobbying and account service but boy will I work my way up!
AND my first day in Monday!
So here's the really exciting part. Kyle and I had a little contest as to who would get a job first and the winner would get to buy some extreme luxury item of their choice. His, Xbox 360....mine, designer shoes! I told the partners this and they thought it was hoot (female-owned firm). I think it's none too convenient that I got a signing bonus for about the amount that a beautiful pair of designer shoes costs!
So watch out boys. Watch out Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, Stuart Weitzman, Cole Haan, here I come armed and ready to buy!
I'll post my plunder later and oh what a sight that will be.
And for those who think it's irresponsible of me to spend cold hard cash on something extravagant and silly like this when my husband still doesn't have a job and the cost of living here is out of this world....to those who say that....I say....talk to the shoe!
With Shoe Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to spend a day as the opposite sex? I have, and today was my opportunity. However, it wasn't for a whole day, just for a short hour and it wasn't by choice. This morning in our ongoing struggle to have our car registered in DC, we went to the DMV (again) and got our driver's licenses. My picture wasn't perfect, but I don't really care. My address, birthday, and weight (unfortunately) were all correct. It wasn't until an hour later, while sitting in the other DMV (a story for another post), that I discovered the mistake.
No wonder the moment I put the license into my wallet that I felt the sudden urge to brush my hair! No wonder I started to notice all the shoes in the shops as we walked! No wonder that despite my deep hunger, I ordered a salad anyways! The reason behind my wonderment was clear. There it was. On that small plastic card. Right under the words "Sex", there it was. A big, clear, fat, F.
For one hour, for longer than I would ever like to experience again, I was a registered female in Washington DC. The thought came to me, because I was so frustrated with all the other DMV challenges we have had, that I should just leave it and that it didn't matter. But then I had flashes to future difficult situations. What if I get pulled over? What if I want to get on an airplane? What if someone asks me to prove that I am actually a male? These daunting situations pursuaded me to rush to the counter, and plead for a sex change....on my license. Minutes later I was handed a new license, with the familiar constanant, M. Oh, good to have you back M! Please, don't ever leave me again!
Well, I can only hope that there will be no more future mishaps with my identity. DC, thanks for messing with my life. How about instead of finding ways to mess with me, you find me a job instead.
With love,
Kyle
A man.
I promise.
Dear DC,
This is my first post here. Julia and I decided to share this blog together, so let me apologize in advance to those who are not accustomed to my inappropriate humor. For some, you may be asking, who am I? That is a great question. In fact, the last few weeks I'm not so sure either. And for that we can all thank the Washington DC Department of Motor Vehicles. Let me say that moving across country, as big of a challenge as it was, it was very smooth with very little trouble. However, all that changed once I tried to register our car in DC.
Feeling very confident standing in line, having checked, rechecked, and triple checked to make sure that I had all the proper forms and identification in order to get a new drivers license and register our car, my confidence was crumbled when it became apparent that my identity was in question. After handing my documents, including social security card and passport over to the DMV clerk, he quickly noticed that the name on my social security card did not match the name on my other documents. My drivers license and passport both showed me as R____ Kyle J_____, but my SS card showed me as merely Kyle J____. The clerk informed me that my SS card needed to match everything else, and with a different name on it they cannot confirm who I am and I would not be able to register my car. Blast!!
After waiting in the DMV for another hour to see a "special clerk" to see if I could convince them that I am both Kyle and R____ all at the same time, I was asked the all important question from a lady who obviously doesn't enjoy her job.
-"Boy, why does your SS card have a different name on it?
-"I dont know," was my reply. "I suppose my parents thought that life didn't pose enough challenges on its own."
She didn't like my joke...not even a grin. Apparently that wasnt a good enough excuse to allow me to use my current SS card and I was told to go to the social security administration and get a new card with my correct full name on it. Sigh.....
I think the type of people that you see in the SSA office is a good topic for another post. Lets just say that they are not normal. And by not normal, I mean they are quite possibly insane. But to wrap up my challenges of identity, today in the mail arrived my new SS card with, (drum roll) My real full name!! Aah, finally I have an identity back! It feels great to be fully R____ Kyle J____ now.
So DC, I'm not sure why your DMV is the only instution, person, or government that has ever questioned my identity in my 27 years, but thanks for the ride. Lets not do that again. And to all you parents out there....please don't change your childs name on their social security just because they are confused in kindergarten why their teacher keeps calling them by their dad's name. It will eventually cause a mess down the road.
With Love,
Kyle...I mean R____....no, wait, its Kyle.
Dear DC,
While I don't have any amazing pictures of the inauguration itself, I have the next best thing.....pictures of the jumbo screen!!!!
Here you can see where the stage would be if that tree wasn't in the way.
I've already touched on how cold it was.....but let me reiterate. IT WAS COLD! Kyle was so cold he got hives up and down his legs and back. Some capitalist gentlemen not in line went to Starbucks at about 6:30am and brought back a dozen or so black coffees (cost about $1.50) selling them for $5 a piece. They no doubt could have gotten $10 each if they felt like extorting the Obama faithful. There was also a lady who had a box full of hand and toe warmers coming around at 5:00am selling those $0.50 packages for $5 each. There is a buyer at every price. I scoffed at the woman next to me who bought 5 of them. About two hours later I was wishing that I had purchased a few myself....brrrrr! I think I might have even paid double that for a little heat!!!!
Along with seeing the political celebrities (I swooned at every Senator who walked out onto the stage), we saw some Hollywood stars there as well. At one point I was 10 ft away from Bruce Springsteen and Chris Tucker (not at the same time). I'm not one of those papparazzi-esque people calling out their names non-stop to get them to look that way for a picture so I don't have any pcitures...you'll just have to take my word for it.
In summary, despite the cold, the crowds, the woman in front of me who refused to stop dancing to the music and thus shaking her butt into my abdomen, and the guy behind us who had a comment for every single person who was shown on the jumbo screen (even if he didn't know who they were, we heard all about it) - in spite of all these things, the experience was worth it.
Now if you will excuse me, I have to watch the inauguration on the Internet to see what I attended!
With love,
Julia
Dear DC,
Long lines, huge crowds, confused tourists, inaugural parties....DC you have been busy.
Ok, I know that my reader(s) are just dying to know....how was the inauguration?
In short it was cold, long and AWESOME!
I don't need to talk about how historic it was and blah blah blah.....you already know that. I also don't need to talk about Michelle Obama's awesome ensemble, you saw the pictures.
What was unique about being there was how infectious the energy of the crowd felt. There was a guy with a video camera standing close to me that was interviewing people about their feelings about the inauguration and why they were there. It was cool to hear all the different stories and why they wanted to be there in person.
I was on the Capitol lawn but I couldn't actually see the people...there was a conveniently placed tree blocking any view of the President I would have hope to have.
More details and pics to come!
With love,
Julia
Dear DC,
Thanks for the historic day!
For all those who missed the "We Are One" Obama Inauguration Celebration concert today (broadcast on HBO), you missed out! I saw it.....twice. Once live, standing in the cold, and once at home on HBO.com to see what really happened.
First of all, it is exhilarating to be a part of something so big with such a large crowd. To be there to celebrate change in the country alongside 250,000 some odd people was an honor.
But boy did my feet ACHE! We walked to the Lincoln Memorial from our apartment which is oh, only about 3.5 miles. That's not too bad except for the fact that once we got there the last 0.5 miles took about an hour to get through because of the security and throngs of people.
Thank goodness it was 35 degrees (warmer than yesterday) so it wasn't so painfully cold. Bundled up (and we were), it was actually quite pleasant.
My problem is that I'm an optimist and a futurist. I'm always thinking that what is in front of me will be better than where I am at now. So when Kyle finds a perfectly good spot to put down a blanket and sit for a while, I protest, convinced that for some reason someone at the front saved a spot just for lil' ol' me. I donated money to Obama's campaign and made phone calls on his behalf....I deserve that spot at the front right? Well, everyone else had the same idea (and feeling
of deservedness) so I ended up in a crowd stopped about 100 ft from the front.
Not bad, except for the fact that this 5' 3" girl was stuck staring directly at the back of a red and black coat covered in 2 inch grey hair from the molting 6' 5" middle-aged man directly in front of me. Mr. Red Giant was flanked by a 6' 2" college student studying in Ithica (but originally from Arizona) and a 5' 11" woman in a red parka which advertised that she had been to Antarctica in 2002. I got to know those neighbors very well while overhearing their conversations for the following 2 hours waiting for the concert the begin. And once it did begin, I got to know them even better as my body was pressed into theirs while everyone struggled for a view of the action. My view?....the red and black coat.
So, I stepped on my tippy toes to catch glimpses of the two jumbo screens in front of us from time to time and jumped up and down in the crowd in hopes of actually seeing the actual celebrity performing - who were 1 inch tall from my perspective. Shame on Mary J. Blige for wearing all white because she blended right into the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The only way I actually saw her was the contrast from her bad blonde dye job against the ivory steps.
But all the walking and 5 hours of standing in place (worse than walking for 5 hours straight) was worth it when about an hour and a half into the concert the ring of The Edge's guitar rang out and Bono opened his magnificent mouth to peal out the words "Let Freedom Ring!" before starting into the first verse of "Pride (In the Name of Love)" and setting my heart aflutter and a slapping a permanent grin on my face. U2 was bestowed the time to play two full songs so they finished up with "City of Blinding Lights" and a political statement on how Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream is not just the American dream but also the Irish dream, the European dream, the African dream, the Israeli dream and even the Palestinian dream (GO BONO!).
There is only one man that could follow the amazing spectacle that is U2, and that man is of course the next president of the United States, Barack Obama himself!!! And I saw him. That's right....be jealous. You can see him in the picture below.....can't see him? It's like Where's Waldo.....look for the white podium just to the left of the big screen. That black coat? Yup, that's Obama's coat.
Don't worry...it was worth it! And I will do it all over again on Tuesday when we go to the Inauguration!!
Thanks DC!
With Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
So little did I know that YOU ARE SOOOOO COLD!! It's beyond freezing here. Nothing like what I hear it is in Minnesota but this definitely rivals my childhood in Canada. Plus, I didn't walk everywhere in Canada like I do here.
DC, you tricked me! It wasn't this cold when I lived out here two years ago. Why the bait and switch? As I walked to the library this morning (only five blocks away but it's not very big - I got very very spoiled living just one block from the amazing Salt Lake main branch!) any uncovered skin started screaming at me in pain because of the extreme temperatures. Anyone who wants a real extreme sport? Do it in 10 degree weather naked! Now that's extreme.
Luckily, my apartment has utilities included in rent so I can crank the heat and not shiver under blankets. I just hope it warms up before I-Day (t-minus 3 days) so I don't come away with a historic case of hypothermia standing outside waiting to catch a glimpse of our new president.
With Love,
Julia
Dear DC,
It is one day until I come back to you for good! I leave Utah one last time as a resident. I leave my friends, my job, my husband's family. It's hard. As much as I am NOT a Utah girl, it has become my home over the past six years.
Six years is a long time and feels forever ago. Just think, six years ago:
