January

February

February began with a quick pitstop back in Milwaukee. National Marquette Day may not be an official holiday for most people, but it will always be a day to reconnect with college friends and celebrate a great basketball season.

While this may not seem like a very DC/touristy/historical day, it serves as a great example of why this city is so interesting to live in. After a very fun and sunny brunch, we decided to make our way to the National Mall to people watch and take some cute photos. When we arrived, it turns out that there was a large, “Rage Against the War Machine” demonstration put on, from what we could tell, by the Libertarian party. As we sat in the grass and tried to determine what all the flags and banners meant, Tulsi Gabbard stepped up to the microphone and began speaking. Regardless of what one might think of her, the reality that just hanging with my friends we could stumble across a nationally known figure speaking was quite cool.

The Czech Embassy hosted a fantastic choir from Prague.

Blind Date with a Book

Now they say that finding a date in a new city can be difficult, but that was not the case last Saturday. In my quest to go an entire week without spending any money, I discovered a Blind Date with a Book adventure.

Before I met my “date” I first went to learn about the history of language itself: the Planet Word Museum. This was a museum I had never heard of before and isn’t a Smithsonian (but is still free). It wasn’t so much a museum with artifacts or historical timelines as it was an experience to get you interested in language. There was a section about examples of literary phrases in song lyrics, another where you could record yourself reciting a famous speech, and a room where you could learn a few words in a hundred different languages. It did not take long to get through the museum but was definitely worth the stop to get the academia mindset ready. Just outside the museum there was a table set up with stacks and stacks of books, wrapped in newspaper, and a white sticker with a few basic details written on top. It had the genre, the year published, any awards it won, and a review or very vague description. Rummaging through these books I came across a hefty hardcover:

• Genre: Irish Historical Fiction
• Year Published: 1994
• “Engaging story of Irish history. Characters were well defined and their complex motivations were fully worked out. Having each section told in different characters voice I found effective”

Perfect. Unwrapped, the book is The End of the Hunt by Thomas Flanagan. I haven’t begun reading it, but I think it will be the perfect winter read.

Next stop was the Smithsonian sculpture garden where many benches sit around a great fountain, and it was the perfect spot to spend the afternoon. The book I was reading was “The Girl in the Triangle by Joyana Peters, a local writer I met at the Arlington County Fair. This was a wonderful place to read as well as people watch, and I got sidetracked with some small talk with the older man sitting next to me. After some small talk, he left and came back with a bottle of sparkling water and two cups. He was also there to read and we sat silently next to each other, but mentally transported to the places of our books. I ended up sitting on that bench, fully enthralled in the book for 4 hours until the security guard told me they were about to close the gates. [Of course with my luck, it was right at the most tragic plot twist of the entire book that the security guard startled me and could see the tears welling up in my eyes. Awkward.]

While this whole day might make me sound like a nerd, it served as a great example of how sometimes the best days come from the simplest plans. I started my day nervous about what book I would choose or if people thought I looked weird sitting all alone, but I ended my day falling back in love with reading and appreciating language around us.

Book Release Event at Gallup

Late Night at the Gallery of Art

DC United Game

Nationals Game (Orginally scheduled September 30)

While it doesn’t officially count as being in a hurricane, we had a steady 5 days of rain at the end of September. This led to a Friday night baseball game getting pushed to Saturday, and still being played in the rain. Thanks to the rain, a friend from college was able to snag incredible tickets right behind the Phillies dugout. The highlight of the game was seeing third baseman Ildemaro Vargas get called up for his pitching debut. The transition from seeing 95mph fastballs to 40mph was hilarious and, even better, effective. He got 3 outs in 5 pitches as the Phillies hitters couldn’t adjust to the speed change. The Nats were able to pull 2 runs out in the last ining but it wasn’t enough to overcome the 8-0 lead Philly had up until that point. Overall, a great night for baseball and certainly worth being in a little rain.

Walking Tour of Washington Navy Yard

Kombucha Brewing Class

Other Assorted Events

Late night at the Library of Congress