Saturday Night Shuffle

I dedicate this post to my dear friend, Paul: the questionably straight, bobblehead attorney who sports his infamous embroidary shirt -but only when all his hood-shirts are in the laundry.

Nats season is over :( and I definitely didn't go to enough games but this one was phenomenal....

...and not because they won
...and not because the weather was nice ...and not because of the service (we ordered these in the 2nd inning, they were delivered in the 9th) ...it was phenomenal because some old guy began awkwardly serenading us in the bull pen and it was enhanced by the more awkward shuffle that Paul whipped out....it was phenomenal because we found out that charles would be playing his heart out during a sax solo for the entertainment of the private bar we were at. ...it was phenomenal because of the constant banter and harrassment between my mature husband and his 10 years his senior ultra-mature friend.

...it was phenomenal because we hung out with a stereotypical crowd including: duvet cover hood shirt guy, the comedian, the wine connoisseur, the military man who hasn't seen many women lately, the non-union serious girl, the terrorist slash wannabe porn star, the unique saxophone player, the sarcastic class clown, and the quiet girl taking it all in. I'm not sure I saw one play but it was a memorable game

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Morale Booster

This morning when I left the house I had no idea the adventures that were in store for me. Today was not a normal Friday, our entire office planned to participate in a firm-wide volunteer effort to give back to the community.

I don't know why it's always so nerve racking to drive new places around here, maybe because I'm used to the good ol' grid system. I found myself at exit 39 in Maryland which Google maps told me to take, then up ahead there was exit 39A AND exit 39B?! Google maps failed to mention this decision on my route. I swiftly picked up the trusty cell phone to ask Jen which one was right. Too bad my phone said 'S.O.S. Service Only' which was the type of service I was desiring yet the phone would not dial her number, so it literally came down to a Goofy Movie style decision...aaand...I chose to take 39B on the right. I drove for a few miles not quite confident I had made the correct decision. I caught a glimpse of my navigation system that had been searching for satellites the entire morning...until THAT moment. I had chosen the right road. Thanks NAV, I could have used your services ten minutes ago when I was having a panic attack.

But what was I supposed to do now? I was headed to pick up my friend Jen so she could show me where to park so I wouldn't get ticketed or towed...apparently its an art or learned by experience, skills I unfortunately do not have. Two problems, I had no idea which apartment was hers and no cell service. How did we ever survive without cell phones?....I thought back to those times and remembered PAYPHONE! Do they still exist? Let's hope. I drove for a while and then I spotted the grimy calling machine on the wall of 7Eleven. I gathered up all the change I could find in my car and there I was standing outside the SEV with the nasty phone pressed against my ear hoping Jen would decide to pick up the unknown number, oh and did I mention it was raining? By the 6th ring I was beginning to get pretty nervous but then I heard, "Hello?"

I got through that dilemma just to be faced with another...Jen was like "Oh a park!" I looked to where she was pointing and thought, well I have a small car but how the hell am I getting it in there?! There was only one way...the dreaded parallel park. My only experience with parallel parking was 1) when I failed my driver's test and 2) when I retook the test and the instructor from the DMV chose to ignore the fact that my car was pushing over a garbage can. Parallel parking is dangerous with the wrong person behind the wheel. Good thing I had a wise and patient coach. Because I was all, "I can't do this!" and she was all, "You're doing great!" And after about 5 tries and 5 freakouts I got my civic into its temporary home.

Usually the source of some serious stress is the use of the public transportation system, the Metro, but unusually that was not the case today. Because today I was with a pro so I just relaxed and let her take control. She successfully got us on and off like a nervous mother with her child and that ended up being the quietest time of my morning.

2 hours after my departure we finally made it to our destination. Our National office is where one of the many volunteer efforts was taking place. We went upstairs to meet with a group from Fairfax that provides mentoring, guidance and fun to teenage kids in the adoption system. We were each given a packet full of photos of a child and were provided with some really thoughtful information about each of them from a lady that works for the company and spends a great deal of time with the kids. It was sweet to hear how enthusiastic she was and you could really tell how much she loved all of them. I had never heard anyone use so many amazing adjectives and stories to describe a person. I think she is perfect for her job and her job is perfect for her.

We got chance to create about 40 scrapbooks with those photos and stories, 1 for each of the kids that they would receive as a Christmas present. It was such a fulfilling experience to know that we could do something to touch their lives without even getting to meet them. It also made me stop and think of how grateful I am for what I have...my experiences, my family, my friends, my job. At first I thought taking a full day to slow down like this right in the middle of such a busy time at seemed kind of ridiculous considering the amount of work I had on my desk. But after this day I was really glad I spent my time doing something that meant something instead of just doing something.

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"W"

My favorite moment of the day: We planned to take the pups for a walk since it was sunny and 72 degrees. When we finally stepped outside the wind was howling and it looked like it might rain, but Baxter and Jack were so excited we couldn't take them back in. And inevitably about 10 minutes into our walk we started to get pelted by rain and hail. We were like is this seriously happening? There was nothing left to do but run. It was a great sight all four of us dodging precipitation, running, and laughing. I wish I had a camera to capture the moment. It was classic. Especially about halfway home when you could tell how pissed Baxter was because he was losing endurance and the little tubbo was beginning to look more like he was getting dragged along rather than winning the race to cover.

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Downpour

We woke up Friday morning to a wet Pittsburgh...the perfect weather for being cooped up taking a test. I hardly slept a wink the night before (I usually sleep like a log) because I was nervous Tanner wasn't going to sleep well in the hotel. The next morning he told me he slept like a baby. It is funny how different the two of us are. I would have slept terribly and been pacing the room all morning but Tanner was as calm as can be just watching some morning television and getting in some last minute cramming. Here is our self portrait right before Tanner began his slow and painful brain-drain.Tanner's position on the MCAT: So for those of you who haven't taken a standardized exam, they suck about as much as two flat tires in a rain storm. You know, you only have one spare and you are stuck on the road....whatever, on to the test. The MCAT is long, it drains the brain, makes you laugh, makes you cry, then rides you rough and puts you to bed with no kiss goodnight. Here is the overview of the test so you know what I mean.













Physical Sciences = 2 years of hell

Verbal Reasoning = Verbal Reasoning

Writing Sample = A unified essay on the following "Society is best run when freedom is the foundation."

Biological Sciences = 2 years of hell

The worst part is, the test you just took on a computer takes a month to give you your score. Neat-o huh?

When we got into Pittsburgh on Thursday night it was pretty dark and gloomy and gave me a weird feeling instantly. But it was an eerily and astonishingly beautiful city. I tried to capture the magnificence of the old town on camera...but my photos came out like crap. So, Tanner took a few on our way home and I hope they kind of give a sense of what it was like. (Pittsburgh Trivia: Downtown is built on a triangular tract of land where the Allegheny River and Monongahela River meet to form the Ohio River. Pittsburgh is known as "The City of Bridges.")

I drove us home and I have never been so scared the rain was coming down faster than our windshield wipers could handle...You would think that since we were driving on a TOLL ROAD the upkeep would be a little better but there was constant potholes filled with water and we were hydroplaning to no end. Our toll money must be embezzled by the state government.

But we made it safe and sound keeping ourself entertained on the road by trying to name all of the states and capitals in the US. Good crap, we thought we were smarter. We did a terrible job and ended up looking up half of them online. Seriously anyone reading this should try it...you might surprise yourself with how much harder it is now compared to when you were in 5th grade.

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