My note of the day....

Question: What do rich folk daydream and visualize about?
Answer: Yeah, Rachel, whatever they want.

Question: And what do poor folk daydream and visualize about?
Answer: Yeah, whatever they want.

You're coming along so quickly, Rachel -
The Universe

So really......I should expand my dreams.....I guess I could work on that. :)

The Hockey Game!

So I have 30 minutes before I am supposed to head out to dinner with the gang, I thought I would take the time to blog a bit. It has been a whole week. I wanted to write about my sister’s visit. I wish I could say that it was nothing but fun, unfortunately I ended up sick as a dog. Tiana spent Sat and Sun entertaining herself. I know, what kind of hostess am I? Kate came by on Sat and took T to dinner and I don’t think I have ever been more grateful. They ended up going to 5 Guys, which I love, but there is no way I could have handled either the smell or the actual food. I was stuck to an applesauce, water and ginger ale diet for the weekend. :(

But for the fun part, and we did have fun, I actually took pictures. T arrived in the middle of the night on Thursday. We crashed and I headed into work Friday morning. There was a lot for me to do and I couldn’t afford to take the whole day off. This, actually, worked out well because T wanted to take in a session at the temple. We met up around 3 pm and headed back to my house to change to play clothes. We had tickets to watch the Washington Capital’s take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. We metro’d in and I got some fun pictures with the rain. I really love playing with my camera (even if no one else likes the way the pics turn out Lol!).
Our tickets were in the nose bleed section. Of course, what can you expect when you only pay 10 bucks a ticket? I spent time in that section learning the art of self-portraiture and taking pictures of the tiny men racing around the ice.

See we finally got a good one!

As you can see, even with a zoom lens we were pretty far away.


After the 2nd period T and I decided to walk for a bit. By the start of the 3rd period we were comfortable ensconced in the cushy chairs on the first level. As you can see the view was much better. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a really good picture of Steph’s favorite boy, but I got some fab ones of our Goalie!



There was almost a fight...but the refs waded in and broke things up before it got to far...So sad. I was looking for someone heading to the box for 5 minutes. I'll just have to be satisfied with a win. Lol!

The little girl in front of us was in love with my camera and the chance to look at her self on camera so I took a few shots to keep her occupied. I was going to offer to send them to her parents but I didn’t want them to freak out…who takes pictures of other people’s kids? Though…she is a doll isn’t she? Some people’s children…just adorable!

It was already dark out so we headed home. We must be getting old as we didn’t want to go play in the district. We headed back to my place and spent the rest of the evening playing the old school Super Mario Brothers (yes, on the original machine) and talking on the phone to various important people in our lives.
All in all it was a good night!


Next post will of course skip ahead to Sunday. We took some great pics….I can’t wait to share.

Becasue everyone else was doing it.......

Put a fork in me I am done...

First day back after being sick all weekend and this is all I can think:

Less then 4 hours and I can go home!

Can't win for losing....

I thought I would illustrate the dichotomy that is my life.

Wednesday, March 14th:

I caught a ride from my boss. This is normal; she lives about 15 or 20 minutes from me (walking time). She was running late, so I offered to walk to her house. It is an easy walk and so I grabbed my back pack and jean jacket and headed out the door. I must admit that I had dressed down in jeans and tennis shoes and I think that factors into the reactions that followed. I was almost to her house when I noticed a group of teenagers waiting for their bus about 3 or 4 blocks from me. I thought nothing of it as I watched the bus pick up the kids. What shocked me was that moments later, as he drove towards me, I watched this man flip on his flashing lights and start to pull over to pick me up. I mean I am told I look young…but not that young. Good heavens!

That afternoon the administration department went out to lunch to celebrate the “31st” birthday of a man with children older than I am. As we sat at lunch in Legal Seafood, munching on oysters and calamari, many in the group were ribbing people about their age. I, of course, got teased because I was the only one actually under thirty (I believe the jokes were about me being carded to drink my cherry coke). In a moment of what I will call “man brilliance” one of my male co-workers looked at me and asked… “You’re not 30 yet?” My response of course was, “Why do I look older then 30?”

*sigh* So goes the days of my life….. Lol!

Antsy…..

I don’t want to be sitting at my desk….I shouldn’t even be blogging but I can’t focus.

I am in the middle of running an interview, prepping for 2 new hires, finishing up paperwork for the last 2 new hires, and working on emails for our FSA plan. That is a lot to do…

What am I thinking about instead……

The fact that in a few hours I get to go running…AND I am excited about it....

I know…..it’s a little sick….and a lot out of the ordinary. I think I am going to schedule myself an appointment with a shrink.

....Caught in a Trap........

Today while IM’ing with a good friend the conversation turned to Elvis. This is not something I talk about much. I think I got Elvis burnout when I was a teenager. My sister Gretch is the Elvis lover, and she was known to have it playing pretty constantly. But today while talking I was reminded of the good songs….so I thought I would share with everyone, what I am listening to today…..cuz every so often you need a bit of The King!

Words to live by.......

I know I have previously commented here about the Girl Scout cookies that are sold every year. Some how, I always cave and end up purchasing them. I love them really I do….but for future reference:

I strongly advise AGAINST buying the aformentioned cookies when in a state of unhappiness and/or stress.

That is how you end up with 3 boxes of tagalong, 3 boxes of trefoils, and 4 boxes of samoas. Yeah I might not be a math whiz but even I know that adds up to 10 boxes of cookies…

*sigh*

All I can say is that there was a moment of weakness. Thank heavens they can be frozen and eaten later. Any one need a dessert for a party?

All by myself.....Sort of...

It was a night like any other…There was Pakistani food and hot coca with a friend…a chat with Kate about girl stuff….a nice phone conversation with another friend who was half asleep….and then preparation for bed….sounds pleasant doesn’t it? If I had been able to fall asleep right then this morning would have been even worse then it was.

Lucky for our house I was not asleep when my roommate Jen came knocking at midnight asking for matches. Apparently our pilot light went out again. Now this might not seem serious to you, as a matter of fact it might not even seem blog worthy. But for us on Chapman street this was a serious problem…4 girls in their mid twenties and none of us knew how to fix this…were we to call the landlord? Were we to call the gas company again? My family happens to be the farthest away and the most likely to be awake at midnight EST so I finally got a hold of my sister Gretch. Why Gretch you ask….no that is a very good question as she in also in her mid-twenties. But unlike me she and her husband are rebuilding a house…yeah I have seen pictures…she put in a staircase….and remodeled a bathroom…and there are other things…she is amazing. And She is PST. so that made it much earlier for her. Anyway, after talking to her for a bit and realizing she really couldn’t help with out being there and then realizing it wasn’t our furnace but our water heater (yeah, you can go ahead and laugh, I won’t hold it against you) I settled into reading the instructions on the water heater itself. Yes, I am brilliant. Watch out world. I’ll spare you the boring details, but the pilot light was lit, there were no major catastrophes and the only casualty was the massively ugly bug that decided to crawl across the basement floor.

Every one should be proud of me.... I sure am!

One last shout out to Gretchen’s husband Mark, who called me to make sure everything was okay, and who quickly realized I was too tired for any real conversation. He is the greatest brother-in-law ever

Billy Joel -

I can clearly remember sitting in the stuffy auditorium at SAIS-R in Saudi Arabia. I was 10 or 11 years old and we were attending my big sisters choir concert. Tiana I must say that I have no idea what your choir sang. But I remember a choir singing We Didn’t Start the Fire with a slideshow running behind them. And thus my love of history was born along side my love of Billy Joel. All through high school I wanted to be a high school history teacher, I wanted to incorporate We Didn’t Start the Fire into my year end exam. Unfortunately, reality set in, I don’t have the temperament to teach teenagers, but my love of Billy Joel is still going strong. His was the first concert I attended (Him and Elton John…let me tell you in Utah it was me and my friend and the elderly…quite a site LOL!) Today as I was trying to get focus on work Various Billy Joel Songs were playing on my iTunes and I felt the need to share…I wanted to share Captain Jack (one of my favorites that is some how tied to Kate, we are not sure why but it is)…. but that was not available… I didn’t want one that every one plays…. so I settled on this one. I hope you enjoy.....

Capital Hill Books: A.K.A. Rae's Personal Slice of Heaven

Steph is in town…..I have missed her. I am glad that she is here to visit. I will blog about her visit after she leaves…then I can put all of the pictures in at once.

Today I found heaven. A group of us went to Eastern Market this morning. I love Eastern Market. There is a children’s bookstore called The Fairy Godmother that I love….I try to pick something up there whenever I have the chance. Today I added 2 more Madeline L’Engle books to my collection.





The find of the day was a place called Capital Hill Books. I walked in realized I had found my Eden. We were short on time and so I immediately started up the stairs directly in front of me; only to find that the stairs were stacked with US and UK military books. Upstairs was fiction…..there were stacks of books everywhere. I had to take pictures….I mean…this is my dream….my safe haven. Steph called and it was time to go….I have yet to get more then a peek at the main floor…and rumor has it there is a basement….
*sigh* I can’t wait to go back

If Only.....

It is 10 o’clock at night, it is Wednesday. I should be at B & N counting down the last hour of my shift. But I am not. I am home. I am tired and will probably go to bed soon. But I must be honest. I kind of want to be at B & N. Alright, I take it back. I really want to be at B & N.

Now I recognize that I can’t handle the shifts. And I really don’t miss only getting 4 hours of sleep at night multiple nights in a row. Nor do I miss having to work during parties and other fun things, or stressing about missing my bus at 11:30 at night.

With all of that in my mind…..Why do I wish that I hadn’t quit?

It starts again.....

There are reasons that I don’t like going to the doctor. Every time I go I end up having to go see more doctors…have tests done…and spend a lot of time and effort just so some one can tell me that they have no idea what is wrong with me.

It started again today. The first round of blood tests has been started. I get to go to the hospital on Friday afternoon for a couple of tests. (Steph I will try to make dinner but I think I will be late. I am not sure how long these will take this time.)

As a side note: I am finally giving up the Barnes and Noble Job. I can’t do it. I’m tired all of the time and I want to have a life. Here’s hoping that this helps. Lol!

Disappointment…..

Well Ralphie was able to catch an earlier flight home. I understand the reasoning. He was done with everything. He has a wife and baby in Utah and who wants to stay an extra 24 hours when you have that waiting for you at home.

T, decided to take an evening in. Which is good for her; we are all a little stressed.

But still…….THIS……would have been fun, with just the three of us.

*sigh* Oh well maybe another time.

Santa Claus is coming to town.....

Or it could be my “favoritest brother named Ralph.” (cuz I have so many brothers named Ralph…)

I am so excited. He is coming into Baltimore for a few days and has allowed for an evening of dinner and fun with his 2 east coast sisters. Tiana is going to drive up from BV and we are all meeting up at Union Station.

Any suggestions for dinner in the district….something authentic and wild?

The Universe tells me that......

Letting the opinions of others dampen your enthusiasm, restrain your joy, and stifle your creativity, Rachel, is often exactly what they were after.

Pity for them, huh?

Let's rock -
The Universe

Past the point of no return.....

No second chances.....daaa de da de daaaa de da....This song from 'Phantom' is running through my head for various reasons. I know it will go away if I just listen to it. Sadly, I do not have the soundtrack to this musical...so the same line will just continue to repeat in my head.

In all honesty, I think I am "past the point of no return" I need sleep. :(

Confirmed Yet Again

As if the whole world didn't already know I was a pushover. Lol! Defender of the underdog, shy to a fault......Gonna have to work on that...Ha Ha Ha

Matt Parkman You scored 62 Idealism, 37 Nonconformity, 25 Nerdiness

I don't want to be a chump. Congratulations, you're Matt Parkman! You're a great person: caring, hard-working, and honest. You might not have the best of luck, but you do your best in all areas of life. Your kind and responsible nature is rare, and you should be proud of it. Your best quality: Heart Your worst quality: You may take more abuse than you deserve

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on Idealism You scored higher than 99% on Nonconformity You scored higher than 99% on Nerdiness

Link: The Heroes Personality Test written by freedomdegrees on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Words of the days.......

I don’t know if I mentioned this already but my desk calendar for this year is a “Word-A-Day” calendar. I love desk calendars that teach me something. I know I am sick. Sorry. But what I really love is the fact that on the back of each page I get to learn more about the roots of the day’s word. Some words I have known, like disingenuous, or imbue, others are new to me, and still others are words that I thought I new but can have different meanings. Unfortunately, I have been ignoring my calendar since the 12th….I have been rather busy (or lazy depending on how you look at it) here at the office.  So here are a few of the words that I caught up on today. Maybe you guys recognize these words(yes that means you Perry and you too Professor).

February 12th:
Comity (kŏm'ĭ-tē) n: Friendly civility
:courtesy

February 14th:
Twee (twē) adj. Chiefly British: Affectedly or excessively dainty, delicate, cute, or
quaint.
Apparently this word comes from baby talk, an alteration of the word sweet. In the early 1900’s it was a term of affection, now it just means that you have bypassed sweet and are in the realm of disgusting.

February 17th:
Catawampus (kat-uh-wom-puh s) adj.: Askew, awry, catercorner.

Interesting to note (according to the calendar):
Back in the Middle Ages, the French word for “four” could be spelled quatre or catre. Speaker of Middle English preferred the form cater, and they used the word mainly to refer to the four spots on one side of the die. Someone noticed that you can connect these four spots to make and “X,” a fact that might have helped cater to develop the extended sense of “diagonally.” Over time, that sense was built into dialect compounds meaning “diagonal” or “askew,” including “catercorner,” a word linguists think was later modified to create “catawampus.”

So while all that was interesting….can some one please tell me how that made sense? And how in heavens name was catercorner turned into catawampus?

And Lastly:
February 19th:
Bromide (brō'mīd') n. 1: A compound of bromine and another element or chemical group.
2a: A commonplace or tiresome person
*2b: A commonplace or hackneyed statement or notion

Apparently, in the mid 1800’s potassium bromide was added to medicine to induce sleep. By the 20th century “bromide” was being used to describe anything that might put you to sleep. We have since advanced medically but apparently not figuratively. So there you go…another word for those talks in Church!

Off to Clean.....

A day off….It was nice to sleep until the sun woke me this morning. Did you ever see the musical Oliver, when Oliver wakes that first morning in the house of the rich people. He wakes to the sun and the sounds of the world outside his widow. I have always loved that. I love to wake to the sounds of the outside world......today was a little cold to have my widow open so I just woke to the sun. Good enough for now. The problem is that here it is 11:30 in the morning and I am bored. There are things I should do. I should finish unpacking. I should clean my room as it looks like a disaster. I should do laundry. These are things that I have avoided doing because I have been working or sleeping so much lately. But now that I have the time…….Well who wants to spend their day off cleaning? Now that I have complained, I will buckle down. I tell myself that I will have everything done in time to go to the movie tonight. Here’s hoping!