The view from Sugarloaf

A year ago, I created a DC bucket list for my fifth year here, as a I celebrated my fourth anniversary of moving to the city. Below is the original list with the items I’ve completed crossed off. So I still have the remaining items to check off, and I’ve also added a few more things I want to do as I embark on my sixth year in DC. Thanks to all who have joined me in my bucket list adventures (and sorry to those that I haven’t yet arranged something with!) – I’m now accepting rolling offers to complete the rest and ideas to add to it! This year I will be much more diligent; I learned my lesson from the 11 things by 11/11/11 journey. And check out my Top 11 of 2011 for a short recap of what happened in my fifth year.

Must Do for Year 5

• Go to the top of the Washington Monument
• Eat at Art & Soul
• Visit Ben’s Chili Bowl (I’ve only had it at Nats Stadium)
• Attend a Caps game
• See a concert at Verizon Center
• Hike the Sugarloaf trail (thanks, Kim!)
  
• Visit Mt. Vernon
• Visit the Library of Congress
• Visit the Supreme Court
• Run the Capital Crescent trail
• Do a night monument tour  (technically complete as I did a night run around the Mall.)
• See a full show at the Kennedy Center (only saw a Millennium Stage show once)
• See a play at the Shakespeare Theater  (ahh- I came so close to this!)
• Eat at Ray’s Hell Burger
• Visit the botanical garden
• Visit all the museums that I’ve missed so far
• Visit the National Archives

In addition to the yet-to-do above, here are some new ones for the list for year 6:

• See a show at the 9:30 Club
• Go ice skating in the sculpture garden
• Attend a DC United game
• Eat at all the Jose Andres restaurants that I haven’t covered yet
• Eat at Old Ebbitt Grill
• Fly a kite on the Mall
• Visit the Goethe Institut
• Attend an embassy event

I have my work cut out for me! Thanks DC for another great year, and I look forward to another amazing one!

After weeks of waffling between cold rains and random warm days, it seems like summer is pretty much officially here in DC. We’ve had a stretch of days with temperatures into the 80s, humidity first thing in the morning, and hot breezes into the late evening. Here we go!

Summers hold some of the best memories for people everywhere, whether you get them off, or slog through them with some breaks in between. Summers are chock full of things to do and memories to be made. Here are a few of my favorite summer moments from over the years…what are some of yours?

• Summers in Louisiana: Hot boiled crawfish spilled all over newspapers on the picnic table, and a spearmint snowball in my hand to cool off. Boat rides down the Blind River and jumping in the swamp until I realized that I could die from an alligator or snake bite. Riding my bike into the sugar cane fields with my cousin and then getting an iced treat (pushpop, popsicle or fudgepop) from MaMa’s freezer. Trips to Blue Bayou waterpark.
• Vacations with my parents: Europe in 1996, a Carribbean cruise in 2001, Wrigley Field in 2003.
• Adoption Day: July 3, 2001 (10 years this summer!)
• College summers: News internships in Cincinnati, Springfield, and Columbus, Ohio. Rascal Flatts and James Taylor concerts.
• DC summers: More concerts. Jazz in the park. Colonial Williamsburg. Tiger Woods. Wedding back at my alma mater. Wrigley Field. Two moves. Fireworks. Baseball. Breakup. New friends.

Out enjoying DC, year 1

This week marks my fourth year in DC. I’m a big milestone person, noting anniversaries, birthdays, recognitions, etc, as if I work for a card company or something. (Thankfully, I have friends who do the same, so I know I’m not alone in this.) As I think back on the four years I’ve spent here since I left school and Ohio a semester early, I realize I’ve been through a lot, but that I have so much more coming my way. Journey with me?

Since February 2007:

• I’ve lived in three apartments and had four roommates
• I’ve had two jobs, three titles, and six (and a handful of dotted line) bosses
• I continued a long-distance relationship, and broke it off
• I’ve rekindled old friendships, made many new ones, and lost friends I thought were for life
• I’ve consulted for 2 amazing entrepreneurs whose companies I believe in
• I’ve held five parties, all but one Cajun-themed
• I’ve watched the Saints win the Superbowl and LSU win the BCS Championship
• I’ve gone through two couches, two mattresses, two comforters, two shower curtains, and two lamps.
• I’ve gone kayaking, hiking, museuming, and attended tweetups
• I’ve run my first three races here and scheduled my next two
• I’ve watched the July 4 fireworks every single year, either on a rooftop or on the Mall
• I heard Ted Kennedy speak, voted in person for the first time, attended President Obama’s presidential inauguration, done a West Wing tour, and a Capitol tour.

All that and a lot more in these four (short/long) years. But, what’s even better is that there is still so much to do! I’ve decided to create a fifth year “bucket” list, or more appropriately named, a “Must Do” list. I’ll want your help – I’m going to start it here, and I want your suggestions! Anything and everything goes, from restaurants I should try, to the cheesy and touristy, to activities I need to do, to places to hang out in. Help me fill out my Must Do list for year five!

Must Do for Year 5

• Go to the top of the Washington Monument
• Eat at Art & Soul
• Visit Ben’s Chili Bowl (I’ve only had it at Nats Stadium)
• Attend a Caps game
• See a concert at Verizon Center
• Hike the Sugarloaf trail
• Visit Mt. Vernon
• Visit the Library of Congress
• Visit the Supreme Court
• Run the Capital Crescent trail
• Do a night monument tour
• See a full show at the Kennedy Center (only saw a Millennium Stage show once)
• See a play at the Shakespeare Theater
• Eat at Ray’s Hell Burger
• Visit the botanical garden
• Visit all the museums that I’ve missed so far
• Visit the National Archives

What else?

Within a few weeks, I became friends with a group of people (mostly all guys) that a college buddy m

et when she had moved to DC, only a couple of months before. But sad to say, within my first year here, each and every single one of those people moved from DC, because they all worked for Exxon and that’s how Exxon works I guess.

An HMC moment

When I started my job, I did the happy hours and lunch here and there with some of my fellow coworkers, but it w

asn’t until my friend Jacqueline’s wedding that five of us really bonded. We began calling ourselves the Hot Mess Club – HMC for short. Soon after Jacqueline married, she left our office. About six months after that, I left. And now, our friend Christin is moving to Chicago, Abby may be moving to New Mexico at any moment, Alanna is looking at Costa Rica later this year, and who knows where I may end up in 2010.

The Hot Mess Club has now been to two weddings together, numerous birthday lunches, dinners and happy hours, a bridal shower, and a baby shower (thanks to Jacqueline for all the showers). We’ve been through deaths in the family, unemployment, frustrating coworkers, and lame roommates. For three years, we’ve gathered once every month or two to catch up on work, boyfriends, husbands, babies, bosses, losing weight, gaining weight, therapy, sex, and new jobs.

Last night the HMC gathered for what might be the last time we’re all together for some time. It’s the nature of the city I guess.

One of my old roommates might be leaving DC this year. Another friend and colleague moved back to the West Coast after 10 years in DC. And now, one of my closest friends out here is moving on to the next chapter in her life.

As we ate our jambalaya and white beans (it was pretty damn good, if I do say so myself), drank our wine, and shared the latest updates, the HMC knew that things were about to change. But there were no tears, because I think we’ve all accepted that this is DC, and this is what happens. We’re happy for each other, proud of each other, there for each other. And we were already planning the first HMC reunion as we go national, and potentially international.

I didn’t expect to find four amazing, beautiful, intelligent, driven women in DC – four women who wanted me to be their friend, four women with so very different backgrounds and goals and personalities – four women who make me feel at home when I’m with them. But I did. So despite it being DC, despite this being a pitstop for so many of us on the way to the rest of our lives, I’m incredibly grateful that we all made this pitstop at the same time, so that as we get back on the road, we will have someone to call, someone’s house to stop at, someone’s birthday or wedding or baby to celebrate. At least we’ll have each other to lean on when our lives are a hot mess.

Our entire public affairs team has put in countless hours reaching out to media, posting updates from our colleague who went to Haiti to deliver medical supplies, asking people to donate to help the UN. Many of us (including myself) worked the entire three-day weekend, to ensure that our organization was doing all it could to support the UN’s relief efforts in Haiti – and it’s nowhere near over.

That being said, yeah, laying around in bed the whole weekend would have been nice, but at the end of the day, what really matters is that I’m proud to be part of such a powerful, inspiring group of people who are putting others before themselves, putting their all into something bigger than themselves, putting their passion for their work first and foremost in this time of need.

This is why I came to DC.

I have never been a part of something like this. In 2005 when Katrina hit New Orleans, I was scared for my family, and sad for the place of my birth, the place that I still hold dear in my heart. At college, I helped raise money for relief, but didn’t head down to rebuild, didn’t post banners on websites or urge people to give through their cell phones. And for the tsunami, I am reluctant to admit that I had no part in the relief efforts at all – I watched from the sidelines.

But here, now, I finally feel like I am truly helping. I may not be in Haiti delivering the medical supplies, the food, the water. I may not be setting up telecommunications so that families can call loved ones. I am proud of the people that do those things, and I admire it. But I do feel like here on my end, in front of the computer, that I am making a difference with my tweeting and banner posting, and email sending. Because how else do we get out the word about this crisis, how else do we let people know what they can do to help?

I’m proud of my team, proud of everyone who has given a part of themself for this effort.

This is why I came to DC.

A couple of years ago my parents moved into a new house. I lived in it for about 2 months after I had left college, before I came out to DC. Although when I go to Cincinnati to visit my parents, I call it home, I also continue to say “when I get back home,” and am then referring to DC.

Can there be two homes? It’s an interesting thing to think about. Home is where the heart is, you live in a house/apartment/boat/cardboard box, but it’s not home, etc, etc. Now after living on my own for 2 years, I no longer feel guilty when I refer to DC as “home” to my parents, because I really do feel I can have two homes. Here are the differences:

My Home in DC:
-cozy apartment all to my self
-my computer
-my bathroom has all the stuff I need in it, not just some stuff
-my snacks in the kitchen
-all of my books & decor
-all of my stuff
-my pillow
-my life

My Home in Ohio:
-my parents & my dogs
-Dad’s coffee
-parents’ food
-a better mattress
-bigger TV/more movies
-marathon TV sessions (L&O, NCIS, Band of Brothers)
-great backyard
-Graeter’s ice cream
-some old personal things to keep it feeling “homey”
-room to do a puzzle on the dining room table

It’s not a competition by any means. Each has its own pros, cons, and quirks. And of course, at home, I have family, and here, I’m alone. As much as I love being out here on my own, there’s nothing like going home a few times a year and just reverting back to childhood for a couple of days (without the early bedtimes).

What does home mean to you?

For weeks I had debated whether or not I would actually make my way through the crowds and the cold down to the festivities, and in the end, my friend got us tickets on the Capitol lawn, so that sealed the deal. I woke up at 6am, and after my friend picked me up and we parked his car back in Dupont Circle, we literally jogged to where our gate was. I was bundled up in about 6,000 layers and wearing snow boots, so by the time we got there, I felt like I had had a complete workout. And then the cold set in, of course.

A few hours after waiting in the blue gate line just to move a couple of blocks, we made it onto the lawn with time to spare. We didn’t have a direct view of Obama, and were cut off by the corner of the building, but we were close up to a jumbotron, and being on the lawn still made it feel pretty cool. The moment was awesome, and I was glad I had ventured out. That evening, I conked out on my couch, much like I had done 2 days earlier after attending the Lincoln Memorial concert. Being out in the cold is exhausting! I doubt I would have lasted very long at a ball or other shindig.

Now that Obama is President Obama, it’s great to look forward to the work he’ll do to bring about a fresh face to our country – and he’s already gotten a great start with things like repealing the global gag rule, passing the Lilly Ledbetter Act, and pushing for a stimulus package. Not to mention, he has a sweet White House website, thanks to my former colleague, the amazing designer, Matt Ipcar.

It’s pretty cool to live in DC right now…and I’m sure it will only get better!