ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh


or

maybe......

ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

at least that's what my roommate says.

Gingerbread House!

We successfully made a gingerbread house from scratch. We are proud.



Yes, in DC even holiday decorations turn political.... supposedly Santa is a Republican... I don't what I think about that...

Life is Unexpected.

Life is...

1. The physical, mental, and spiritual experiences that constitute existence.
2. The time for which something exists or functions.
3. A spiritual state regarded as a transcending of corporeal death.
4. An account of a person's life; a biography.
5. Human existence, relationships, or activity in general.

unexpected, which is...

1. made necessary by an unexpected situation or emergency
2. causing surprise or amazement by not being expected
3. happening or coming quickly and without warning.

Inside the Beltway

Every morning I metro about 40 minutes down to work in Alexandria, VA. This evening, as I ventured home from work, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the Metro. Here are just a few of my random thoughts:

- 50% of the people on the Metro on in their own little world of their Ipod. We each literally create our soundtracks for our lives as we go about our day. Each person has his/her choice of song to match the mood and the experience. As I watch everyone listening to his/her own music and involved so much in his/her own world, I wonder what it would be like to know what each person is thinking, feeling, and listening to.

- DC is filled with Type A personality. The city is made of people who are over-achievers, over-workers, over-anxious, over-stressed and pretty much everything to the extreme. They moved to this city to change the world, to make a difference, to pursue dreams; yet now, they strive each day to barely stay on top and realize the "system" makes things almost impossible to accomplish.

- I love examining people's expressions on the Metro. You see everything - crying, laughing, drunkness, bitterness, anger, love, and the most popular - the blank stare of dullness. The best to see is people just enjoying life. I love it when I see people coming home from work and they look alive and excited, instead of half-dead from a days work. I love watching the people dance to the music and groove with the beat. This evening, I watched a man in an electric cart rock back and forth as he pumped his groove to whatever music he had flowing into his years. Shortly after, I watched a man bust out dancing as he waited on the platform for the Metro to come. This ensures me that people are alive, breathing, thinking, and have yet to become completely devoid of life's little blessings (which in reality are the best things after all).

- There are a hell of a lot of people in this world. As I barely fit myself into a crowded Metro, I realize how many people cover this city, this county, this world of ours. Each person is heading somewhere, striving to do the best they can, pushing to get ahead (ahead of what? no one knows?) and yet, we fail to realize all the people around us. We are each so trapped in our worlds we fail to see the person we push out of the way in order to catch the train.

It may not be "home." It may not be the prettiest place. It may be too busy, to hectic, to self-obsessed. But DC, the people who live here, fascinate me and I am in love with discovering more about them and learning how to love them - cause that is what it is ultimately about. How do I love these Type A, striving world-changers?

business trips

We always say that we'd love to find a job that would pay us to travel. Well, I always did... and I found one. I went on my first business trip this week to Florida for a conference that my company put on. It went well and according to everyone's remarks - it was successful. However, as I pondered this new era of my life, I struggled with justifying the amount of money people spend on work trips. Yes, it is educational. Yes, it is "networking." But is it worth? Is it justifiable?

As I looked at the luxerious location, places to eat, and general atmosphere, I began to wonder about all of this. First my question, was how could anyone justify spending this kind of money on this? Then, my question became - why would you even want to justify it?

I realize the need for business and that the world only goes around persay through market exchanges and developing new partnerships. However, how do we change some of the expected profiles of what it means to be an executive to relate more to the financial situation of parts of the world? I'm not saying there is anything wrong with enjoying life and enjoying some extravagances, afterall, I did thoroughly enjoy this weekend and felt completely spoiled. How do I take this situation though and compare it to corporate responsibility?

These are just some of the thoughts I had this weekend. Overall, the week went great. I "succeeded" at my first business trip, my first business presentation, my first networking event for my company, etc. I love my job, I love what I do - it truly is enjoyable for me... but there is always the lingering question of what's it all worth in the end? Who/what is it really for? Where is the eternal value?

My breakfast table.

the one time actually on the beach... most of the days were spent working 12-14 hours and three of them i never even breathed fresh air or saw outside of the building...

The middle of the pool is a glass bottom that looks below to the second pool flowing underneath. The hotel was rather gorgeous in booth design and atmosphere.

More around the city

The White House, Genae, and Stef from the top of the Washington Monument.

Eric, his parents and I at the WWII memorial... yes I placed the apple core in the picture. :)

This one's for you mom. :) Can it get any better? Target SmartCars!

National Cathedral Garden. yea baby.

getting the tickets.

anything to stay warm



We got tickets! Woo hoo! After 7 hours in line, we got tickets. It was a happy moment. Now we get to go to the White House Christmas tree lighting in a month.

.beauty in the city.

This tree shines its beauty on the way to work each day.




















Hannah and I preparing for the night at the White House.




















Rachel as the gnome, trying to stay warm.




















The homeless do have some smart ideas about sleeping on newspaper... kept us warmer... not really warm... but what can you do in below 30 weather sleeping outside.

life is more than 8-5

While I still miss California dearly, DC is beginning to feel like home. As I leave for work, I greet the man who works for our complex and picks up all the newspapers. Then I walk by the neighborhood homeless man who actually makes me smile because instead of having the typical jar for money or "Will work for Food" sign, he simply has a sign that says, "Single?" Classic. As I see him everyday now, I've realized he's rather a friendly guy... maybe a little too friendly. But I think it's funny, one of these days I plan on stopping and asking him why he has that sign... but first I gotta get up the courage.

As I wander to the Metro every morning at the same time, I have begun to get used to certain faces and enjoy watching everyone half asleep going to work. Elisjo (or something like that) says good morning and hands me the Express every day as I stumble down the Metro Esclator trying to balance my coffee and find my Metro card. The Washington Post gives away the Express newspaper every morning, it's a mini edition of the Post. Great little reading material for the Metro - if I stay awake. Greatest thing about commuting via Metro - sleeping! No traffic, no anger (well... some people find metroing angering, today someone yelled).... instead of driving, I simply enjoying music, sleep, reading and day dreaming. An excellent thing to do for two hours a day.

the weekend...

Fun pics can be found at...

www.genaespictures.shutterfly.com

My lovely roommate created a photo album... it's fun. Aww, the four of us, so cute.... or just ridiculous!

yay for DC.