I was a brownie.

This weekend I went with friends to the Hershey Chocolate Spa. It was a fun indulgence and we had LOTS of chocolate. My favorite thing of the whole weekend was the chocolate fondue wrap. I was a brownie for an hour. I had mud and chocolate oil all over me and relaxed under a warm heat reflecting blanket.

Sadly what came to mind while I was under the blanket, was how great of an idea would it be to offer similar blankets to the homeless. They reflect your own body heat and keep you surprisingly warm and don't get saturated by rain and such. I sort of laughed at myself for thinking about such things while I was in a super luxurious environment feeling the height of self-indulgence. I guess I just can't help it sometimes.

So after floating home like a wet noodle, I'm dreading work this week which will be lots of work in a very tight deadline. It's not dreadful, and it's needed, but it's totally going to undo all my hard relaxation work. Somehow I'll have to manage.

Watching History

Today made headlines all across the nation and around the world. High turnout at the polls, excitement across the nation--makes me so proud to be an American today.

I did go vote on election day. I know, I live in DC, so it's pretty predictable. But I was still excited to stand in line for an hour and a half.

Just for a point of reference, this is my block. My polling place is about 100 yards away. I stepped out and had to walk down to the opposite end of my street, go around the corner and then stand in line. This was at 7am when they opened. Everything was moving and organized well, there were just more people than any school could reasonably handle.

Of course on my way home there was no line, but it was also raining by that point and I was glad I voted early.



So the excitement in town last night was unavoidable. People were literally dancing in the streets. Horns were honking, people were shouting "Obama" and "Change We Can Believe In." Whole groups of people just started walking the two miles down to the white house. This was all in the drizzly rain at 1am.


So today I realized just why I love living in this city so much, especially at this time. Part of it was the spontaneous excitement and celebration that happened last night, but also just the knowledge that we are living history.

We are living history in such a special way here in Washington, DC. We get to enjoy it while it's happening. It suddenly dawned on my at about 2pm this afternoon that the Newseum on Pennsylvania Ave. displays the front page of newspapers across the country and some from different nations of the world. The sight was just incredible. Here are a few images.

It's pretty remarkable.

Democracy Wins!

I just finished watching the presidential debates. My first impression-- how refreshing to hear two smart men talking about real issues. I haven't heard it in so long! I feel all elevated and challenged in the conversation.

Jim Lehrer did his darndest to create a more authentic Lincoln-Douglas, which was surprising since the media is the one who has worked so hard to get away from the candidates actually talking to each other. He's still an amazing moderator and kudos to him.

Oh the issues. There was so much to cover, and I honestly heard myself agreeing and disagreeing with both candidates. I can't wait to see the fact-checker reviews tomorrow.

So what everyone is really asking is: who won? I think the winner here was definitely democracy. Let's talk about issues and the distinctions of our candidates in depth and not just through snipes and sound-bites. Hooray for democracy, the freedom of speech, and the free press!

Locks of Love

Alright. I went and did it. I decided to cut my hair for locks of love today. It's unreal how quickly all that hair disappeared.

Of course I went to Beth at Fiddlehead's. She was great. I was so excited and she had fun with my bob. It's definitely a lot shorter than I was expecting, but hair will grow out.

I was asked if I'd start growing it out again. I said no. Let's keep it at my shoulders from now on. That is, once it gets back there, which may be a while.

On another note, I got my Dyson DC 18 today! I had so much fun playing with it (also known as vacuuming). You wouldn't believe how much cat hair came up in the first run. My carpet feels all new again now, though. It's small and pretty light and totally makes the wretched chore fast and easy-- so it's totally worth it to me. Oh yeah, and I got it for less than half the price on woot.com! I'm just all about the deals today.

National Book Festival

I didn't think I could get any more excited about the National Book Festival on the mall Saturday, September 27. Then I saw the list of authors and NEIL GAIMAN is going to be there!! Now it's just made my day. A totally frustrating week is vindicated by the mere fact that I will get to see and meet Neil Gaiman. I'm already excited to go back and read all his books, maybe even twice.

All the info is on the Library of Congress website http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/.

Why aren't they called Lies anymore?

The front page article of the Washington Post leads :

As Campaign Heats Up, Untruths Can Become Facts Before They're Undone

So why can't we just call them lies anymore? Is it just because they're Republicans? How one-sided is that? I propose the headline: Liar, Liars and the Stinking Lies They Tell.
Let's make it more point-0f-fact and call a spade a spade and stop ruminating on silly turns of phrase like "putting lipstick on a pig."

Can't we just bring back the common sense?

This is why I love living in DC

"Behind the Scenes of the 2008 Presidential Election"
It's a session with pollsters, campaign strategists, party chairmen, and chief liasons to the presidential candidates. I get a discounted ticket, even, for being part of the Smithsonian Young Benefactors group (which has monthly happy hours and the free drinks are totally worth joining by itself)! It's a week after the election, so what better time to go and hear all the stories, trials and tribulations than when it's over and everyone can kick back?

Yes, this and the "Evening with Presidential Chiefs of Staff" really does it for me. I realize I'm like a 65 year old woman stuck in a 25 year old body, but I think it's ok in this town. Just going and listening to these amazingly accomplished individuals is enough to knock your socks off, but for a political science junkie like me, it's like crack. I already know I won't be able to sleep after hearing these discussions and my mind will just be racing a thousand miles a minute.

Which is probably good, since I'm looking into the Johns Hopkins MA in Applied Economics. It's a part-time program here in DC and might actually get me that masters--finally. I know that 2 classes a semester while working will be a lot, but a program that's designed for working people, should be ok. Also, I have all that initial masters-level work behind me, so I'm kind of ahead of the game I'm thinking.

I'm pretty much stoked about the whole program-- Smithsonian and Johns Hopkins. So many smart people in such a small space is exciting. Did I mention I love DC?