rhymes with spoon

So far the return to work life has been manageable. I recall now that:
a) while I may not be a morning person, I'm most definitely not a mid-afternoon person. I neeed to move to a country with a siesta!!
b) I abhor fluorescent lighting and ceiling tiles.
c) Nice offices have cool coffee machines, i.e. one with individual pods that make freshly brewed cups!
d) Even ergonomic chairs get a bit uncomfortable by 3 PM.
e) I must get to bed before 1 AM if I'm to be functional 12 hours later.

In a strange fit of disorientation, I fell into such a deep sleep after work today and bolted out of bed thinking that it was 8:45 AM instead of 8:45 PM.

Believe it or not, I'm finding myself less and less in love with DC than I once was. (Gasp! Could the Midwest actually be rubbing off on me?!) Mostly I've been feeling grievously wronged by the District's restaurants. Case in point, last night's horrific dinner at my once beloved Majestic Cafe. My list of grievances:
a) smug, self righteous bastard of a waiter. (I hate it when waiters treat me like I'm three). Jeff grossly disregarded my plea to leave a miniscule tip.
b) hushpuppies fried just shy of charred.
c) the daily layer cake tasted like it was baked LAST week...horrifically dry and crumbly and saved only by a wonderfully fudgey icing.
d) prices significantly higher than I remembered...this isn't just about keeping up with the pace of inflation. (I sighed deeply when I realized that the cost of Jeff and I splitting an appetizer, entree, and dessert GROSSLY exceeded the price of our awesome Thai dinner last weekend...YES, there IS good Thai food in Glen Burnie!)
e) insipid grilled salmon saved only by an interesting blood orange sauce.
f) orzo overcooked and not quite saved by a creamy avocado sauce.

Final analysis: good bye Majestic Cafe...there are too many other good restaurants in Old Town dserving of my restaurant dollars.

Another culinary grievance...Sushi Aoi--one of my favorite post-college haunts notorious for one of the best sushi happy hours in the world. I returned tonight jonesing for some serious nigiri. To my horror, I found that there happy hour menu drastically reduced! They kept white tuna and dropped unagi! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! Not to be daunted, I still coughed up the requisite $4.50 for regular priced unagi...delicious and I guess I can't complain for getting out with a respectable sushi dinner at $17. I'm just used to getting a lot more bang for the buck. Time to try some place new.

I'm gonna be super dog-sitter here this weekend while the boys are out of town. I need to rest up if I'm to keep up with the super-dog this weekend. I also feel like a wuss right now after hearing from an old college roommate. She's also a 2L here for summer work and is facing an 80 hour week on week 1. Slacker thy name is flan!

The month of May has been a whirlwind...a force of the terribly good and the terribly bad. By some miracle, I successfully moved out of my apartment last week, dumped all my stuff into storage, and jumped into the trusty Subaru to haul ass to DC. Needless to say I wasn't exactly in a super rational mindset when Jeff and I decided that the drive from Madison, WI to Baltimore, MD was doable...in a day OR when I hatched said plan over a 10 PM dinner at the Cracker Barrel in Washington, PA. Driving through the windy roads of WV at 1 AM after 14+ hours of driving was quite the challenge, even with a trusty co-pilot. Jeff, to his credit, was simply awesome. Anyone who is willing to help me move cross-country (again) and not kill me after 12+ hours in a car with me deserves at least a nomination for sainthood. Not to say that I'm a total nightmare to travel with...I fare reasonably well on long road-trips but I admit that I'm a total pain in the ass when it comes to moving (ask Jess for extensive testimonials).

All the crap of 2L, finals, and move (that went surprisingly smoothly, no thanks to all the lame-o's that "promised" to help out but flaked out) behind me, it's been absolute bliss to return to the fair city of my formative years, to regain my extensive support network, and to figure out how to maximize QT with Jeff b/f I trek back to the midwest. Strangely though, I've returned to the splendid capital with a more critical eye (blame all my time in Baltimore) and don't find the District to be nearly as charming and magical as I once did. Then again, I've barely spent any time in the city thus far...with my only trek from Alexandria consisting of a tour of DC's best gay bars. (Perhaps not the most representative sample of how DC ticks). We shall see what a summer of gainful employment, some routine, and good friends will do to change my mind.

Well, I made it (sort of)...I'm one year closer to getting a JD. I spent a few days recovering over premium sushi, pomegrante martinis, and loads of TV, knitting, and chocolate. The past 48 hours have been consumed by furious packing, cleaning, throwing out of junk, and profuse cursing (largely related to heavy lifting). The remainder of the week will be consumed by furious packing and hopefully less cursing. Frustrations aside, I'm pretty low key about this move. (Those of you who know me well are probably in disbelief right now). Honestly, I hate my apartment so much right now I couldn't get outta here faster. Ever since the place came under new management, it's been a total scam. Even without the obnoxiously loud neighbors I might not be terribly inclined to stick around.

I had some pictures from my successful Crafty Planet excursion on Friday but I left my camera at home so I'll have to post them later.

I am despserately looking forward to spending a summer in a nice, quiet house with friends (and a dog!) and spending quality time with Jeff.

The countdown begins...in roughly 48 hours (give or take 12, depending on how many paper edits I put off til Thursday night/Friday morning) I will be a) a free woman and b) 2/3 of the way done with law (hell) school.

I have no concept of what the next 48 hours will be like...I have so much to get done between now and then.

EEEEEKKKKKK!!!

One final down, two more and a paper to go. The last 72 hours have been grueling to say the very least....as I'm trying to minimize my negativity, I won't discuss further. 'nuff said there.

Spent the rest of yesterday unwinding with other survivors of the exam, bonding over beer, rockin' bbq'd meats, bawdy conversation, and shopping. Stacey and I dropped by Patina, our favorite place to spend our non-existant disposable income. (Well, I guess I should speak for myself...Stacey's already got a killer firm job for the summer that pays boatloads of $$$$s.) I purchased a much needed wallet (lovely black leather and reasonably priced) and a little card/memento for the Mom since the store conveniently reminded me that Mother's Day is just around the corner. But I refrained from a most irrational purchase...a Jeanine Payer silver Palmer cuff bracelet. $350!!!! Maybe not much in the world of jewelry, but I'm not much of a jewelry person (my constant staples are both gifts from close friends--a silver Kenneth Cole watch and a cherished pair of Baily Banks Biddle silver hoop earrings)...but considering my not-so-bling lifestyle, it's a lot! Really what drew me to the bracelet is the engraving on it...one of my absolute favorite quotes of all time:

'Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, some day far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.' Rainer Marie Rilke

It has a very, very special place in my heart and reminds me of a much happier period of my life. I'd hoped maybe after a hard summer's worth of work I might be able to buy myself a nice Coach purse, but I'm considering blowing that plan to invest in this little trinket. Not nearly as practical as a nice leather purse but would mean considerably more to me.

Other loves...I signed up for a sewing class at Crafty Planet right after finals. I'm very excited about it and am looking forward to conquering my fear of my sewing machine. It'll be a nice break from packing/moving/etc. Yay!

Back to work!